Chinese device maker TCL said it had sold 8.49 million handsets in the first quarter of 2013, an increase of 8 per cent year-on-year, although it noted weakness in its home market.

The company said that international volumes grew by 13 per cent to 7.41 million, while sales in China fell by 16 per cent to 1.08 million units.

TCL, which offers devices in international markets using the Alcatel One Touch brand, has seen its legacy feature phone business tailing off (reflecting the trend seen by other vendors), while also recently acknowledging that its smartphone unit has yet to reach the size where it can generate economies of scale.

The build-up of the smartphone unit has also led to increased R&D investment and sales and marketing spend, which has negatively impacted margins.

In the most recent quarter, the company said that sales of smartphones increased by 95 per cent year-on-year to 1.45 million units, “laying a solid foundation for the Group’s product transition”.

On its roadmap for its home market is the launch of “mid-end smartphones”, while overseas it “aims to gain further global market share for its smartphones and feature phones by stepping up existing cooperation with mainstream global telecommunication operators and distributors as well as exploring new partnerships”.

With regard to meeting its aim of becoming “a real first-class brand by 2015”, its focus this year is on “brand shaping, product designing and channel building”.

The company said that in the second half of 2012 it was ranked as the number 7 handset maker worldwide.