Things aren't looking good for Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC. CNET reports that its second quarter sales revenue numbers are in and those numbers show a business making nearly half of what it made in 2014.
HTC's revenue was about $1.04 billion during its second quarter, about half of the revenue it made during that time last year. Also, the company's profits are now losses, thanks to HTC's smartphones not catching on enough to compete with more popular brands, such as Apple and Samsung.
Even HTC's flagship phone, the One M9, failed to help the company turn things around, particularly in China where smartphone manufacturers Xiaomi and Huawei take a larger piece of the pie.
These losses come when HTC is already in the throes of upheaval: the company recently replaced its CEO and lost its design chief, along with his replacement. HTC also recently began dabbling with other technology, including a new camera, a fitness band and a virtual reality headset.
However, as a result of this loss of revenue, the company announced that it would make more drastic changes in the short term. The company plans on cutting jobs, as well as downgrading the number of smartphone models it manufactures. Cost cutting is expected to extend into next year.
"The cuts will be across the board," said HTC chief financial officer Chialin Chang in a press statement. "They will be significant."
The company's future will focus on higher-end smartphones in markets that are just emerging, such as India. However, analysts believe this won't end HTC's struggle to keep up with the likes of Samsung and Apple.
"We believe HTC will keep losing share in the smartphone market and will keep losing money," analyst Calvin Huang with Taiwan's SinoPac Securities wrote in a research note.
There is potential good news, though, at least for HTC's short-term prospects. Taiwan News reports that the company will see its net loss decrease going into its third quarter of 2015. Much of this comes from steps the company took to reduce costs.
"Meanwhile, year-on-year shipment volume increases were seen across select key emerging markets," said the company in a statement. "HTC has begun to implement companywide efficiency measures to reduce operating costs across the organization and ensure resources are appropriately allocated to future growth."
