HTC said that its sales for the second quarter came in at the lower end of its guidance, although the smartphone maker saw a hike in profit which added some cheer following tough times for the company.

The positive news comes at an important time for HTC: following the recent launch of the new flagship One (M8) and the mid-range 816, which have reinvigorated its product portfolio (other new devices such as the One Mini 2 have subsequently been added).

While the company’s products have been well regarded, it has struggled against the presence of rivals such as Samsung, which has deeper pockets with which to fund its marketing efforts.

HTC’s net profit was TWD2.26 billion ($75.6 million), compared with TWD1.25 billion in Q2 2013, on revenue of TWD65.06 billion, down from TWD70.7 billion. The company had been forecasting revenue in the TWD65 billion to TWD70 billion range.

Encouragingly, the company also saw a 4.05 per cent increase in revenue month-on-month to TWD22.08 billion in June 2014, although sales were essentially flat compared with June 2013. For the year to date, the company has seen sales of TWD98.18 billion, down 13.5 per cent compared with the same period in 2013.

The company saw a loss of TWD1.88 billion in the first quarter of 2014, and Chia-Lin Chang, its finance head, previously said that the aim was to end the first half at “breakeven to slightly positive”, in order to have a “clean start” for the rest of 2014.

With the TWD2.26 billion Q2 profit, the company has achieved this goal.