Taiwan’s HTC has said it won’t consider merging with local rival Asus (also known as Asustek Computer) and hasn’t been in touch with the company, in response to comments made by Asus chairman Johnny Shih last Friday about possible interest in the troubled smartphone maker.

In a new statement,  HTC said it “didn’t contact Asustek and will not consider the acquisition”.

HTC recently forecast a sharp loss for Q2 and cut its revenue forecast, citing “slower demand for high-end Android devices and weaker than forecast sales in China”. It also trimmed its gross margin forecasts, primarily on product mix change and reduced scale.