Phonemaker HTC Sales Plunge Pushes firm to a Loss

A sharp plunge in sales has pushed the Taiwanese phonemaker HTC into a loss for the three months to March, as it struggles to compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung.

Revenue for the first quarter dropped 64% to 14.8bn Taiwanese dollars ($456m; £315m), while the net loss was 2.6bn Taiwanese

dollars, compared with a profit the year before.

The company is pinning its hopes on its new HTC 10 phone to revive fortunes.

It has also been cutting costs.

The HTC 10 smartphone was unveiled last month with an "ultraselfie" front camera designed to reduce the risk of blurry shots. 

The company is also investing in virtual reality with the launch of Vive - a virtual reality headset that offers more features than its competitors and is more expensive as a consequence.

"The media and consumer buzz around HTC, including for the keenly-awaited launches of the flagship smartphone and Vive virtual reality system, clearly demonstrate our leadership in innovation and have provided a great boost to the HTC brand," said Cher Wang, chairwoman and chief executive of HTC in a statement.

Chief financial office Chialin Chang added that the company was hoping that the smartphone business would break even in the third quarter.

Five years ago, HTC was the world's fourth bestselling smartphone maker with a market share of about 9%.

But in 2015, it fell to 17th place with a share of about 1%, according to research firm IDC.