HTC: Expect up to 23% dive in revenue in Q3

HTC revealed its dire Q2 2012 financial performance last month, and now the company is fleshing out the tough news with a post-mortem and some predictions for Q3. The smartphone manufacturer saw revenues of NT$91.04bn ($3.04bn) with gross margin of 27.01-percent and operating margin of 9-percent, but isn't at all hopeful about the short-term future: estimated revenue for Q3 2012 is between NT$70-80bn ($2.3-2.7bn), down by as much as 23-percent quarter-on-quarter.

Margins are also expected to narrow. HTC estimates gross margin will fall two points, to around 25-percent, along with operating margin, predicted to fall to around 7-percent. The company doesn't explain the likely causes of those shrinking numbers, but with no headline devices on the cards for the next few months and the continued successes of the Galaxy S III it's not hard to see where the pessimism might stem from.

Meanwhile, there's also the threat of the new iPhone on the horizon, and we're yet to see any leaks from HTC's labs that might suggest the company has a strong alternative to hand. That might mean a new degree of clandestine operations from the company, or it could just mean that we'll have to wait a little longer again for a new flagship to replace the One X.

HTC also sites recent work to trim costs – most notably the decision to withdraw its offices from the hotly-contested South Korean market. The firm is "optimizing organizational structure and resources to increase efficiency and competitiveness, focusing on key growth areas" though fails to indicate exactly what those areas might be.