HTC show healthy profits rise for 2010 Q4

Taiwanese smartphone developer HTC have reported a 160% profit rise in the financial quarter from October to December 2010 compared to the same period last year, cementing their reputation as a serious contender to Apple's iPhone and associated devices domination.

Net profits rose to $500 million for the period and the company reported a total of 24.6 million handset sales last year, a 100% increase from 2009.

The company projects that in the forthcoming three months alone they will sell a further 8.5 million handsets, and have announced that they will be entering the tablet market with their own model.

HTC CEO Peter Cheo released the following statement regarding the company’s tablet plans: “It's a new market with many competitors, and we don't want to rush into it... we hope the product we eventually unveil will be one that meets consumers' needs.”

The company, whose corporate slogan is “Quietly Brilliant”, was one of the first mobile phone manufacturers to use Google's open-source Android platform, and its US headquarters are in Bellevue, Washington, close to the Microsoft and T-Mobile offices.

HTC are believed to be conducting feasibility studies into whether to develop their own operating system, and in June 2010 released the first 4G-enabled smartphone, the HTC Evo 4G.

In 2010, the company was named as the 31st most innovative company in the world by Fast Company. The brand places a high value on research and development, with a quarter of its employees being focussed on this area.