????上周五（10月30日），臺灣電子制造商宏達電子（HTC）公布，該公司連續第二個季度出現虧損，業績走向不妙。HTC的季度虧損為45億新臺幣（1.39億美元），收入214億新臺幣（6.60億美元），約為上年同期的一半。

????去年此時HTC一度扭虧并小幅盈利。盡管該公司稱業績“處于預測區間的高端”，但本次虧損著實可觀。同時，HTC也沒有發布今后是將盈利，還是會繼續虧損的指導性預期。

????HTC陷入困境主要有兩個原因。首先，智能手機市場出現了空前激烈的競爭。去年收入的增長動力是在大陸等市場熱銷的中檔Desire系列手機。然而，華為、小米及其他規模較小的手機廠商向這些產品發起的挑戰越發猛烈，后者的品牌在大陸可能更強，產品售價往往也低于HTC。

????HTC在繽紛聚合（Blinkfeed）等軟件和服務方面投入了資金，以應對智能手機的商品化趨勢，并為自身產品較高的價格找到依據。然而，它推出的安卓App最終變得可有可無。

????上個月，該公司發布了新手機HTC One A9，后者堪稱翻版iPhone。HTC表示，該產品“廣受好評”，但斷言它是否暢銷還為時過早。

????HTC的另一個主要問題是向非智能手機領域擴張的長期策略看來并無任何實效。

????今年1月份，HTC宣布計劃進軍聯網和可穿戴設備領域，但年初至今一直沒有推出任何相關產品。

????今年早些時候該公司曾發布HTC Grip，這是一款由HTC和運動裝備制造商Under Armour共同開發的健康追蹤產品。但本周初，HTC將這款可穿戴產品的上市時間推遲到了明年。此外，HTC也沒有推出智能手表，從而將整個市場拱手讓給了摩托羅拉和華為等競爭對手。

????HTC的“如影”運動相機去年末開始發售，但同樣未能流行起來。該相機最初定價200美元，而目前零售價只有前者的四分之一。雖無公開銷售數據，但安卓版如影App的下載次數還不到50萬次。

????HTC把部分希望寄托在了虛擬現實領域，并計劃明年開始全面推廣和Valve共同開發的Vive 3D頭盔。然而，虛擬現實市場依然較小，特別是和智能手機市場相比。同時，Vive頭盔上市后將出現三方爭霸之勢，另外兩款同類產品分別來自Facebook旗下的Oculus和索尼。

????如果說困難重重的HTC還有一個亮點的話，那就是它的現金還挺多，共計433億新臺幣（13.3億美元）。因此，該公司制定出全方位策略之前可以再熬過幾個同樣低迷的季度。（財富中文網）

????譯者：Charlie

????校對：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.