HTC有大麻烦了，原因如下

    上周五（10月30日），台湾电子制造商宏达电子（HTC）公布，该公司连续第二个季度出现亏损，业绩走向不妙。HTC的季度亏损为45亿新台币（1.39亿美元），收入214亿新台币（6.60亿美元），约为上年同期的一半。

    去年此时HTC一度扭亏并小幅盈利。尽管该公司称业绩“处于预测区间的高端”，但本次亏损着实可观。同时，HTC也没有发布今后是将盈利，还是会继续亏损的指导性预期。

    HTC陷入困境主要有两个原因。首先，智能手机市场出现了空前激烈的竞争。去年收入的增长动力是在大陆等市场热销的中档Desire系列手机。然而，华为、小米及其他规模较小的手机厂商向这些产品发起的挑战越发猛烈，后者的品牌在大陆可能更强，产品售价往往也低于HTC。

    HTC在缤纷聚合（Blinkfeed）等软件和服务方面投入了资金，以应对智能手机的商品化趋势，并为自身产品较高的价格找到依据。然而，它推出的安卓App最终变得可有可无。

    上个月，该公司发布了新手机HTC One A9，后者堪称翻版iPhone。HTC表示，该产品“广受好评”，但断言它是否畅销还为时过早。

    HTC的另一个主要问题是向非智能手机领域扩张的长期策略看来并无任何实效。

    今年1月份，HTC宣布计划进军联网和可穿戴设备领域，但年初至今一直没有推出任何相关产品。

    今年早些时候该公司曾发布HTC Grip，这是一款由HTC和运动装备制造商Under Armour共同开发的健康追踪产品。但本周初，HTC将这款可穿戴产品的上市时间推迟到了明年。此外，HTC也没有推出智能手表，从而将整个市场拱手让给了摩托罗拉和华为等竞争对手。

    HTC的“如影”运动相机去年末开始发售，但同样未能流行起来。该相机最初定价200美元，而目前零售价只有前者的四分之一。虽无公开销售数据，但安卓版如影App的下载次数还不到50万次。

    HTC把部分希望寄托在了虚拟现实领域，并计划明年开始全面推广和Valve共同开发的Vive 3D头盔。然而，虚拟现实市场依然较小，特别是和智能手机市场相比。同时，Vive头盔上市后将出现三方争霸之势，另外两款同类产品分别来自Facebook旗下的Oculus和索尼。

    如果说困难重重的HTC还有一个亮点的话，那就是它的现金还挺多，共计433亿新台币（13.3亿美元）。因此，该公司制定出全方位策略之前可以再熬过几个同样低迷的季度。（财富中文网）

    译者：Charlie

    校对：詹妮

    HTC’s earnings are headed in the wrong direction after the company reported its second quarterly loss in a row on Friday. The Taiwanese electronics manufacturer posted a 4.5 billion New Taiwan dollar ($139 million) loss on revenue of NT$21.4 billion ($660 million). Revenue was roughly half of what it was during the same period last year.

    At this time last year, HTC was turning a small profit. Now it’s posting big losses, although the company said its results were at the “higher end of expectations.” However, the company declined to publish future guidance on its profit or losses.

    HTC is in trouble for two major reasons. First, the smartphone market is more competitive than ever. Last year’s revenue was buoyed by mid-range handsets under the Desire brand that sold well in markets like China. But those phones are increasingly competing against handsets from Huawei, Xiaomi, and other smaller manufacturers which may have stronger brands in China, and can often undercut HTC on price.

    The company has invested in software and services, like its Blinkfeed social network, to fight smartphone commoditization and justify higher prices, but ultimately its Android apps have been inessential.

    HTC did release a new device last month, the HTC One A9, which bears more than a passing resemblance to Apple’s iPhone. HTC said the device was met with “critical acclaim,” but it’s too early to tell whether it will be a strong seller.

    The other major problem that HTC faces is that its long-term strategy to expand beyond smartphones appears to be stuck in neutral.

    HTC announced in January that it planned to expand into connected devices and wearables, but so far it has failed to release even a single connected product in 2015.

    Earlier this year the company revealed the HTC Grip, a fitness tracker developed in partnership with Under Armour UA -1.33% , but earlier this week the company delayed the wearable until next year. HTC also hasn’t announced a smartwatch yet, conceding that market to rivals like Motorola and Huawei.

    HTC’s connected camera, the Re, has also failed to find traction since it went on sale late last year, and it currently retails for 25% of its original $200 price tag. While sales figures aren’t available, the Re app for Android has been downloaded fewer than 500,000 times.

    The company has pinned some of its hopes on virtual reality and is planning to widely release a headset developed with Valve next year. But the virtual reality market is still relatively small, especially compared to smartphones, and by the time HTC’s Vive headset is released it will be in a three-way battle against similar products from Facebook-owned Oculus FB -2.77% and Sony SNE 1.07% .

    If there’s a bright lining to HTC’s woes it’s that the company still has a reasonable cash balance of NT$43.3 billion ($1.33 billion) so it can survive a few more quarters like this one while it figures its overall strategy out.