HTC managed to narrow its net losses to NT$1.8 billion (US$57.1 million) in the third quarter of 2016, down from NT$3.1 billion recorded a quarter earlier. EPS for the third quarter was a negative NT$2.18 compared to negative NT$3.17 in the previous quarter.

For the first three quarters of 2016, net losses totaled NT$7.5 billion or NT$9.05 per share.

However, the company said its gross margin improved to 16.1% in the third quarter, up 4.7pp from the previous quarter.

Thanks to improved gross margin, HTC's smartphone business almost reached breakeven in the third quarter, according to Chia-lin Chang, the company's president of global sales.

HTC will continue to fine tune its strategy to focus on the high-end smartphone segment, while reducing the number of models, particularly entry-level ones, launched per year, Chang said.

HTC plans to launch a new smartphone in November, Chang revealed. Market sources indicated that the forthcoming new model is likely to be the Bolt, which is being developed with US-based telecom operator Sprint. HTC is also likely to launch HTC 10 evo, a global version for the Bolt, according to a Chinese-language Liberty Times report.

The company's stock price edged down NT$2.50 to close at NT$91.90 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) during the October 25 session.