HTC's Q4 2017 sales numbers are in, and things aren't looking rosy

HTC is yet another smartphone OEM having a lot of issues with being a successful business. Alongside LG, the company has recorded successive declines in sales numbers in the recent past. The Taiwanese OEM published its unaudited sales revenue report for December 2017, and we can't say things are looking too good at the moment.

In Q4 2017, the company recorded a total revenue of US$533.3 million, a 30% year-on-year decline from the US$754.2 million it posted in 2016. Numbers for individual months are equally underwhelming, with the company managing a meager US$136.1 million in revenue in December, the lowest of the year—bar an abysmal August—and down 37.2% from the US$217 million recorded over the same period in 2016.

Total revenue for the year tops out at US$2.1 billion, down 20.52% from 2016's total of US$2.65 billion. For some more context, 2017's total revenue is the lowest the Taiwanese company has recorded in the last 13 years.

HTC is a bit of a weird one. The company managed to put out solid devices in 2017 but just couldn't find the commercial torque to pull in profits, perhaps due to a lack of proper marketing. There's also the issue of pricing, as HTC devices are notorious for shipping with unaccommodating price tags. Hopefully, the company turns it around this year.