HTC said that its sales figures for the first quarter of 2013 are likely to be uninspiring, as it continues to meet tough competition in the smartphone market.

While the company is expected to unveil a new flagship device imminently, and other updates have been rumoured, this is unlikely to have an impact on its numbers until Q2.

It said that it is anticipating Q1 revenue in the TWD50 billion ($1.69 billion) to TWD60 billion range. This compares with TWD67.8 billion in the same period in 2012.

It also said that its operating margin will be between 0.5 percent and 1 percent, compared with 7.53 percent in the first quarter of 2012.

HTC has struggled in recent months, as it has faced competition across-the-board: primarily from Samsung and Apple at the high-end, and from Nokia, ZTE and Huawei (among others) in its mid-tier portfolio.

The company also reiterated the figures for Q4 2012 it had previously stated.

For the period, the company saw a net profit of TWD1 billion, down 91 percent year-on-year, on revenue of TWD60 billion, down 41 percent.

It said that its Q4 operations in the US and China were “inline with expectation”, as the company continued to focus on areas such as brand consideration, broadening its channel footprint, and expanding its product portfolio.

It also noted that EMEA “showed sequential improvement in broader geographic locations”, and that its South Asia region “continued to strengthen local footprint by building distribution channels with more affordable devices to meet local demand”.