HTC Posts First-Quarter Loss of $62 Million

HTC Corp sustained a $62 million USD loss in the first quarter, the company said Monday.

The drop in sales was the Taiwan-based company's second loss in three quarters and follows a two-year trend in declining sales, Bloomberg reported.

In spite of the loss, the company remains optimistic that new products will boost waning sales.

"The company expects to see positive trajectory of its revenue in April from March and forecasts quarter-on-quarter revenue growth in the second quarter," HTC said in a statement quoted by Bloomberg.

While the new flagship HTC One M8 smartphone has received top-notch reviews from critics, the upgraded phone's sales don't seem to be living up to its reputation.

"New products only came out in March and sales appear to be weaker than even HTC expected," Calvin Huang, an analyst at SinoPac Financial Holdings Co. in Taipei, told Bloomberg. "We need to wait until May to see whether sales throughput for M8 is as strong as they hope."

Huang recommends selling the stock, Bloomberg reported.

HTC was leading the early smartphone market with Google's Android software but has since been eclipsed by Samsung and other competitors, according to BBC News.

The HTC One smartphone was hailed by critics but didn't bring the company back to the forefront, something it hopes the new M8 can accomplish.

But Dennis Chan, analyst at Yuanta Securities, is skeptical.

"The M8 is good, but it's not as revolutionary as the previous flagship," he told BBC News. "Everyone is watching the second quarter to see how it sells."

HTC shares have fallen 38 percent in the last year, according to BBC News.

The new M8 smartphone has a 5-inch display and high-definition screen. The upgraded device boasts a faster processor, revamped software and better camera technology.

The HTC One was praised by critics around the world, and is still collecting such awards as "Smartphone of the Year," which it took at February's Mobile World Congress; however, the phone was held back by production delays and a shortage of parts.

To boost sales, HTC announced in February that a special program would replace a broken smartphone screen for free.

For Advantage customers, busted screens will be replaced in the first six months of owning HTC's flagship One phone, NBC News reported.  The offer is good for one free replacement screen for One, One Mini or One Max buyers.