HTC profits decrease as smartphone competition stiffens

Every streak has its end and the HTC two-year streak of continuous growth came to an abrupt halt over the holiday season. The Taiwanese company posted net profit of $364.26 million, which is a 25.5% decrease compared to the same period of last year.

And while the company already warned that it won't be making its previously set targets, it even failed to meet the revisited goals. Obviously the company's current portfolio is not faring particularly well, with the increased pressure from Samsung and Apple quoted as the main culprit.

To make matters worse, the company expects to see more of the same in the first quarter of 2012 with net profit expected to continue sliding.

There's still no reason to panic of course, as the company is still making cash rather than losing it and it's probably just a hit product away from going back on the right road. Plus, the company was so successful recently that it saw its shares triple in just 14 months - there is no way it was going to maintain that kind of performance forever.

We are holding our breath for the new HTC announcements that should come at CES next week and then later, at the MWC in February. The company is expected to unveil the world's first quad-core smartphone at one of these events and we can't wait to get our hands on that beast.

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