Apple rival HTC is struggling after experiencing disappointing sales in Europe, and also facing an Apple injunction that delayed the launch of new devices in the United States.
HTC expects that its second quarter net profit will drop by 57 percent to $247.7 million in the June quarter, less than half what it earned in the same period a year prior. That number was also significantly below what market analysts expected.
Reuters reports that the handset maker blames poor economic conditions in Europe for disappointing sales. HTC also saw some of it’s devices held up by U.S. Customs after Apple was awarded an injunction for patent infringement.
HTC has languished and failed to compete in the high-end smartphone market with its two main competitors, Apple and Samsung. In April, HTC announced that pre-tax profits fell by almost 70 percent, with sales falling by almost a third.
HTC hopes that the newly launched One X smartphone will give it a foothold once again in the high-end smartphone market. The device is an Android-powered device with a 4.7-inch 720p high-definition display, a 1.5 gigahertz dual-core processor, and 4G LTE data connectivity.
