HTC Falls to 2-Year Low After Sales Forecast Cut

HTC Corp. (2498) slumped to the lowest level in almost two years in Taipei trading after the company cut its second-quarter revenue forecast and Apple Inc. (AAPL) filed a new action seeking to block HTC’s latest handsets in the U.S, Bloomberg reported.

HTC plunged 6.9 percent to NT$378 as of 10:22 a.m., the lowest price since June 2010, extending its loss to 24 percent this year. Taiwan’s benchmark Taiex index gained 0.6 percent in morning trading.

Weaker-than-expected demand in Europe and a delay at U.S. customs prompted the maker of One and Sensation handsets to cut its second-quarter sales forecast by 13 percent. A new filing by Apple could impact revenue even further after the iPhone maker sought an emergency order blocking imports of HTC’s latest phones a week after customs cleared its devices.

“Competition is definitely heating up going into the second half, so I am not expecting much revenue growth,” Roxy Wong, who rates the stock reduce at Mirae Asset Securities Co. in Hong Kong, said after the announcement.

Second-quarter revenue will be NT$91 billion ($3 billion), less than its April 24 forecast of NT$105 billion, HTC said in a statement yesterday. It also cut its expected operating margin and took a one-time charge of NT$2.6 billion to help clear inventory from last year, it said.

Competition is intensifying in Europe, Chief Financial Officer Chang Chialin said in a conference call yesterday without elaborating. Sales in Asia are in line with expectations, while China revenue is better than expected, he said.

HTC may post revenue of NT$91.7 billion this quarter and NT$98.1 billion next quarter, according to the average of eight analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg in the past 28 days.

HTC is being shut out of the introduction of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s next Windows software, people with knowledge of the matter said, cutting off another source of revenue.