HTC says it will no longer try to predict its future following big Q3 loss

Discussing Q3 net losses equivalent to $139M – amounting to a painful 23.1% of revenues – HTC has given up on trying to predict its financial future. According to a tweet by the WSJ‘s Eva Dou, the company refused to give any Q4 guidance during today’s earnings call, and said that it will not be doing so for future quarters.

While the loss isn’t as bad as the $265M it made in the previous quarter thanks to ruthless cost-cutting measures, revenues are down and the loss as a percentage of revenue is up – leading some to question whether the company has a future … 

[tweet https://twitter.com/evadou/status/659992233332994048 align=’center’]

The WSJ reports CFO Chialin Chang pointing out that the company has no legal obligation to give guidance on likely future performance, and stating that the change of policy was to avoid “side effects” – a likely reference to share sell-offs following previous guidance that for a time gave the company a negative value.

The company will be pinning its hopes on strong holiday season sales of the new HTC One A9. Seth’s review was positive but not overly enthusiastic, and the kicker may be that the phone is a mid-range device at close to flagship pricing.

HTC has been struggling for years, and it’s not the first time commentators have questioned whether the company has a future in the smartphone business.