HTC Hands Global Sales Duties to CFO to Stem Revenue Drop

HTC Corp. (2498) Chief Financial Officer Chang Chialin has added global sales to his duties as the Taiwanese smartphone maker seeks to halt two years of declining revenue and market share.

Chang took the sales post, previously held by Jason Mackenzie, HTC said in an e-mailed response to a Bloomberg News query yesterday. He will remain CFO “until the time a transition of responsibilities makes sense,” the company said.

HTC’s sales have missed analyst estimates for nine straight quarters amid manufacturing delays, quality-control problems and stiffer competition from Chinese makers including Huawei Technologies Co. Management changes and resignations have seen at least six senior executives depart in the past three years while Mackenzie’s role has been reduced after previously heading both marketing and sales.

Chang was appointed as finance chief in April 2012 after previously working as a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) managing director in Taiwan, a role that included advising Wang and HTC.

Since Chang’s appointment, HTC has cut research and development spending, reversed previous acquisitions and reorganized HTC’s China operations.

Those moves have failed to halt a slide in HTC shares, which are headed for their third straight annual decline in Taipei trading. The stock has slumped 52 percent this year after falling 40 percent in 2012 and sliding 42 percent in 2011.
Sales Drop

Revenue has also declined, dropping 33 percent last quarter to NT$47 billion ($1.6 billion) after peaking at NT$136 billion two years earlier. Its global smartphone market share was 2 percent last quarter, less than half the 4.6 percent of a year prior, according to Bloomberg Industries.

Ben Ho took over marketing in January this year, with Chang’s appointment to head sales this month leaving Mackenzie back in the position of North America chief.

Mackenzie was promoted to the new role of head of global sales and marketing in July 2011, adding to his role as head of North America. He handed the North America role to Mike Woodward, a former AT&T Inc. executive, in July 2012, before taking it back in July this year when Woodward took a new post as head of emerging devices.