HTC stock drops to 2005 levels, nearly 50% down since M9 launch

HTC HQ is having a somber morning – shares fell so fast they hit daily limit of 9.9% at the Taiwan Exchange, leaving it at NTD 83.60 a share. That's the lowest in ten years and it's not because of circumstances, the Taiex index went up 0.3%.

The slide was triggered by HTC's revised forecast that slashed sales predictions by 35% and the announcement that the company will write off NTD 2.9 billion ($94 million) in assets. Q2 revenue is expected to be around NTD 33 billion, a precipitous drop from the NTD 46-51 billion forecast made on April 28.

HTC's high-end phones did not reach the expected demand and sales in China were weaker than expected, which seriously impacted the company's Q3 position. Analyst Jasmine Lu at Morgan Stanley is predicting share price to go down further to NTD 57.

HTC's first flagship for the year, the One M9, was announced and put on sale in March. The company ended that month with shares at NTD 136, today shares started at NTD 75.5 – that's nearly half! HTC's additional flagship launches over the last couple of months haven’t reversed its course yet.

The company is planning a new hero product to reverse its downward course, but practically nothing is known about it. CEO Cher Wang is still "upbeat about HTC's outlook."

Source | Via