HTC has reported Q3 profits 68 percent higher than for the same period last year. The growth was, however, much lower than it has shown in previous quarters, but was inline with market expectations due to the global economic slowdown. Because of the slow down HTC lower its guidance for fourth quarter revenue with with smartphone shipments in the order of 12-13 million, down from the 13.2 million it sold in the third quarter.
The company was particularly optimistic about its 4G LTE phones that it expects to launch in the first quarter next year, but also took the opportunity to shoot down rumors that it was planning on introducing phones below $100.
“We hope to capture the opportunities from customers migrating from feature phones to smartphones with our quality; that’s something we won’t compromise, we cannot launch low-end products,” HTC Chief Financial Officer Winston Yung said.
