Forecast Improves for HTC as HTC One Supply Chain Problems Ease

[dgstorm]

The initial international launch of the HTC One ended up with a pretty damaging supply chain hiccup. This caused HTC to have one of its worst quarters ever, with just $2.8 Million in profit. Luckily for HTC, it looks like those supply chain problems are easing a great deal, and things are starting to look brighter for the Taiwanese company.

The North American launch of the device should go a great deal smoother as a new report suggests those supply chain problems have been mostly worked out. Additionally, because of this news the financial firm JP Morgan Securities just upgraded their stock purchase rating for the HTC from “underweight” to “neutral." This caused a nice spike for HTC's stock, doubling its price from $5.35 to $11. Here's a quote with a few more details,

JP Morgan’s valuation comes from the fact that HTC is finally beginning to reach optimal performance in manufacturing, with HTC One shipments in April set to exceed 1.2 million. That number is expected to increase to 2 million in May. Compare that to the 300,000 units HTC produced last quarter and you’ll see why things are starting to look up from here. Most North American carriers have been accepting presales for quite some time meaning there’s reason to believe HTC is finally producing enough units to go around to everyone.

The first North American launch is set to take place in just a few days, and regular shipment in markets where the device is already on sale should improve sales drastically.

This shouldn't suggest that HTC is suddenly in a position where it can relax. Despite these rosier current numbers, their previous supply chain hiccup slowed their momentum a great deal, and now the HTC One will have to compete closer to the launch of the juggernaut, the Samsung Galaxy S4. This also gave LG time to get the ball rolling on their Optimus G and Optimus G Pro flagships which have been selling pretty well in international markets.

Regardless, between this good news, and the excellent preorder sales of the HTC One, the company's new focus on better marketing might actually be just what the company needs to start turning things around.

Source: Phandroid