HTC Q1 revenues up 19 percent, beating expectations Tweet

Taipei, (CNA) Global smartphone designer HTC on Tuesday announced first quarter revenues of NT$37.7 billion (US$1.2 billion), up 19.3 percent year-on-year and higher than its forecast of NT$32 billion to NT$34 billion.

The company reported Q1 net profit of NT$5.03 billion, with earnings per share (EPS) of NT$6.42.

However, its Q1 revenues and net profits were down 8 percent and 9.2 percent respectively from Q4 last year.

The company's revenues rose sharply to NT$16.4 billion in March, an increase of about 60 percent from February and 32.4 percent compared to the same month last year.

According to HTC, the better-than-expected figures prove that it has adopted successful branding strategies.

As most institutional investors had expected the company's EPS for Q1 to be around NT$5 to NT$5.5, its shares are likely to rise Wednesday, analysts said.

HTC shares closed at NT$381 Tuesday, NT$6.0, or 1.6 percent higher than the closing figure Monday.

Most foreign investors are optimistic about HTC's outlook.

Morgan Stanley recently raised its target price on HTC from NT$423 to NT$450. Macquarie Securities reiterated its "outperform" rating for HTC with a target price of NT$420, while Goldman Sachs maintained its "buy" rating for the company.

BNP Paribas Securities said that it has raised its forecast for the sale of HTC mobile phones this year by 9 percent -- from 14.5 million to 15.8 million units. It has also raised its forecast for next year to 21.9 million units, up 22 percent from its previous forecast of 17.9 million.

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