Samsung predicts record profit, while HTC posts first loss
The quarterly earnings reports for Samsung and HTC reveal very different stories for the two companies.
Samsung is predicting a record profit of around AU$9.9 billion for the third quarter of 2013, while the same period will see HTC post its first ever operating loss.
Samsung's estimated 10.1 trillion won profit obviously doesn't all come from mobile. In fact, although the mobile division accounts for around two thirds of Samsung's revenue, profit from mobile was actually down 3.5 per cent from the previous quarter. Instead, Samsung's better-than-average profit prediction has been bolstered by its semiconductor business.
HTC, on the other hand, has posted a quarterly net loss for the first time in the 11 years since it went public.
The loss of NT$2.97 billion (around AU$107 million) is bigger than the losses that analysts had been estimating for the company. The blame seems to lie with the flagship HTC One, which suffered some technical delays before launch, despite being a critically acclaimed product.