In a bid to swing back into profitability, HTC is reportedly looking to outsource smartphone production in order to cut costs.

According to sources at The Wall Street Journal, the struggling Taiwanese firm – which recently posted its first net loss since its 2002 IPO – is in talks with a number of contract manufacturers. These include a unit of Hon Hai Precision Industry and BlackBerry supplier Wistron.

According to a Reuters report, HTC has halted at least one of its four main manufacturing lines (accounting for at least a fifth of total capacity) and is already outsourcing some aspects of production.

The Verge, however, published comments from HTC that deny any closures have taken place or that outsourcing production is indeed on the cards.

“HTC is not shutting down nor does it have plans to sell any of its factory assets,” goes the statement. “HTC has a very strong balance sheet and will provide the latest financials in our upcoming earnings call to investors and the broader community [5 November].”

In a separate interview, however, quoted by The Wall Street Journal, HTC chief marketing officer Ben Ho said the company had consolidated some of its production lines in Taoyuan into a single building. He added, though, that HTC had no plans to sell its factories.

“We are looking at all ways to optimise cost without sacrificing quality,” Ho said.