HTC reports third consecutive quarterly loss

Taiwan's struggling smartphone maker HTC on Wednesday reported a third straight quarterly loss for October-December, although losses narrowed due to holiday season demand and the launch of a new phone.

Net loss in the fourth quarter was Tw$3.4 billion ($103 million), compared with a profit of Tw$500 million in the same period last year, the company said in a statement.

Revenue came in at Tw$25.7 billion in the three months to December, almost halved from the same period a year earlier, it said.

However, the figures improved from the previous quarter when it reported a net loss of Tw$4.48 billion and revenue of Tw$21.4 billion, which HTC attributed to "good momentum" of its Desire line of smartphones in the holiday season.

The homegrown Taiwanese brand, once a star of the intensely competitive smartphone sector, has struggled to maintain its edge as Samsung, Apple and strong Chinese brands like Huawei expand their market share.

In a bid to boost its flagging fortunes, HTC unveiled a new flagship model -- the One A9 -- in October to take on Apple's dominance, which the company said was well received across Asia, the US and Europe.

"At the same time, HTC continued in its on-going program of realignment to ensure dedicated resources are in place for all business segments," the statement added.