HTC reports bigger-than-expected quarterly loss

HTC was an early-market leader in smartphones with Google's Android software

Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC has reported a worse-than-expected loss for the first quarter of the year after losing ground to its main rivals.

HTC reported a loss of 1.88bn Taiwanese dollars ($62m; £40m), compared with a profit of T$85m a year earlier.

Analysts had been expecting a loss of about T$1.59bn.

HTC was an early-market leader in smartphones with Google's Android software, but has recently lost out to rivals such as Samsung.

New products such as the HTC One have not yet helped the company regain its market share. While the HTC One received good reviews, these did not translate into strong sales.

'Learn from Apple'

However, the company said it expected to return to profit in the next quarter after the release of the smartphone's upgrade, the HTC One M8, in March.

HTC is hoping to challenge market leaders Apple and Samsung with its latest model.

Dennis Chan, analyst at Yuanta Securities, said: "The M8 is good, but it's not as revolutionary as the previous flagship. Everyone is watching the second quarter to see how it sells."

Mark Stocker, a brand consultant based in Taiwan, said HTC must learn from Apple to stand out in the competitive smartphone market.

He said: "Mimic them, but figure out what your brand stands for. If Apple is Mercedes Benz, try to make yourself BMW."

Shares in HTC have dropped by 38% in the past year.