HTC kicked of 2017 by reporting a continued uninspiring sales performance, although the recent launch of new smartphones looks set to give it a boost in the coming months.

The company said sales in January 2017 stood at TWD4.66 billion ($150 million), down 28 per cent year-on-year. This marks the lowest monthly sales since March 2016.

According to reports in Taiwan a number of factors were in play, including the Chinese New Year impact (late in January 2017). The company’s new U-branded devices are also not yet widely available, although the continuing rollout will provide a potential sales upside in the coming weeks.

Despite its early unveiling, the company is set to face competition from new smartphones from vendors including Samsung, Huawei and LG, which are all due to unveil 2017 flagships in the coming months.

HTC had a tough time in 2016, with full year sales down by more than a third to their lowest level for 11 years.

Taiwanese media reports the company is also seeing weak momentum for its Vive virtual reality headsets, caused by price and lack of available content – particularly now the early adopter market has been tapped.

Also, while the company is betting on VR as a growth opportunity in future, at least in the short term the strategy will do little to offset weakness in HTC’s core smartphone unit.