HTC is feeling the heat from rivals as its profits keep diving

HTC has suffered a sharp fall in its quarterly profits after the Taiwanese smartphones maker continued to lose ground to Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy device.

The world's fifth-biggest smartphones manufacturer's third-quarter figures missed analysts' expectations and marked a further downward spiral since the second half of last year.

Until then HTC's fortunes had soared, driven by strong global demand for its phones, based on Google's Android software.

The Taiwan-based company posted net profit of T$3.9bn (£82m) over the quarter to 30 September. This was behind City expectations of T$4.4bn and down 79 per cent on the T$18.7bn it posted last year over the same period. HTC's third-quarter revenues fell by 23 per cent to T$70.2bn.

But Apple is not having things all its own way and has been hit by a second labour dispute at a factory of Taiwan-based Foxconn, which makes its iPhones, in China. More than 200 quality control staff at its site in Zhengzhou refused to work on Friday. But Foxconn said the employees had resumed working.

Meanwhile, China's foreign ministry urged the US to "set aside prejudices" regarding the giant Chinese maker of smartphones, Huawei Technologies.