Quick Take: HTC Sells Shanghai Factory

(Beijing) — Former smartphone highflier HTC Corp. said it will sell a Shanghai production facility as it raises cash to support its money-losing operations.

But the company added that there was no reason to worry, as the move was aimed at consolidating production around its base in Taiwan.

HTC was once one of the world’s hottest smartphone makers, carving out a comfortable niche on its early bet that such models would one day overtake more-traditional feature phones. But the company has been bleeding red ink in recent years as its sales shriveled.

“The Shanghai factory has made undeniable contributions to HTC,” the company said in a message on Monday announcing the sale on its official microblog. “But we made this difficult decision as we still have a long way to go in the future,” it added, without disclosing how much money it got from sale of the property.

HTC reported its sales fell 36% last year to NT$78 billion ($2.56 billion), resulting in a net loss of NT$10.6 billion for the year. As it has continued to post losses, the company’s cash dropped to NT$30 billion at the end of last year, down from NT$55.7 billion at the end of 2014.

Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)