HTC has just reported their Q2 2012 financial results, and man, they’re not pretty. Sales hit $3.05 billion, down from the $4.32 billion they did during the same quarter a year ago, but the more important number here is gross profit: $247.7 million. That’s down 57% compared to Q2 2011. Why the shitty numbers? According to Reuters, sales in Europe were “disappointing” and that whole customs issue in the United States also made a large dent.
We hate to say it, but we’re not actually surprised by any of this. What is HTC when you really think about it? They buy chips from Qualcomm, they use Google’s software, put everything together, and then sell the finished products to customers. They’re basically the Asian version of Nokia, who also buys chips from Qualcomm, uses Microsoft’s software, puts everything together, and then tries to achieve the same goal.
Meanwhile, earlier today Samsung announced that they’re going to rake in about $5.9 billion in profits. They make their own screens, their own processors, and their own storage chips. That gives them a serious cost advantage. The same can be said about Apple, who doesn’t really make components, but they give component makers huge checks by buying months, even years, worth of stuff in advance.
But back to HTC, will things turn around for them? We honestly don’t think so. The One X is facing WiFi issues in Europe, the American variant is going up against the Galaxy S III, and the One S and One V just aren’t price competitive. HTC should be a lesson for everyone following the mobile industry that despite having a bulletproof strategy, and then executing said strategy perfectly, sometimes you have to go back to the drawing board and admit that your plan might have been wrong all along.
All this is unfortunate since HTC was there when Android was born with the G1.
[Via: The Verge]