Taiwan's leading smartphone maker HTC said on April 8 that first quarter net profit nearly tripled from last year on robust demand.
Net profit in the three months to March hit Tw$14.83 billion (US$$494 million), compared with Tw$4.99 billion in the same period last year, while revenue surged 174% to Tw$104.16 billion.
"The results meet our expectations on strong global demand but HTC faces growing challenges from South Korea's Samsung" which is due to release a new smartphone, said Alex Huang at Mega International Investment Services.
HTC's share price rose to Tw$1,200 on Wednesday, boosting its market value to about $33.8 billion to surpass Nokia's $32.84.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011
