Taiwanese handset-vendor HTC has reported better-than-expected second-quarter net profit due in part to the success to its early Android-based smartphones, reports Reuters. The vendor reported a 2 percent decline in net profit to TWD6.49 billion (US$197.1 million), but this beat analyst forecasts of TWD5.735 billion. Revenue rose 10 percent from a year earlier and 21 percent quarter-on-quarter to TWD38.2 billion, at the top end of the company’s earlier guidance. Reuters notes that the company did not provide any future guidance in its statement, but said last month it expects full-year shipments to be 20 percent higher than previously forecast due to the popularity of its smartphones. 

“Profit margins are looking very healthy,” said Vincent Chen, an analyst at Yuanta Securities. “That’s probably because of the new models that HTC is pushing out right now, and the biggest question now is whether such a high margin is sustainable.” HTC was the first handset vendor to launch devices based on Google’s Android platform, launching the HTC Dream via T-Mobile (branded as the T-Mobile G1) last Autumn, and later the HTC Magic, which is being offered by operators such as T-Mobile, Vodafone and Rogers Wireless. The only other Android-based phone launched to date is the Samsung i7500, which launched last month, though most major handset vendors are planning to launch Android phones by year-end.