Taiwan smartphone maker HTC today reported a 30 percent drop in first-quarter earnings, but kept its forecast for double-digit revenue growth this year as it prepares to launch new products.
HTC, the world's fourth-largest smartphone vendor behind rivals Nokia, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and iPhone maker Apple, said its quarterly net profit came in at $148 million, down from $207 billion a year ago.
Despite revenue declines, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said its sales rose 12 percent in March, after dipping 10 percent in the first two months of the year.
HTC maintained its previous forecast of double-digit revenue growth in 2009.
Smartphones were one of the few bright spots in the technology industry last year, growing by more than 22 percent worldwide, and in some regions, by more than 70 percent from the previous year.
Offering margins fatter than those in the computer business, many PC brands such as Acer and Dell have rushed to push out their own line of smartphones.
