HTC’s fourth quarter results saw a 25.5 percent fall in profit, its first quarterly decline in two years, reports Reuters.

The company’s net profit between October and December 2011 was TWD11.02 billion (US$364.26 million), compared to TWD14.8 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. Net profit in Q3 was TWD18.68 billion.

Following a period of spectacular growth, the Taiwanese smartphone maker is now struggling to compete with Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy range of smartphones.

HTC’s revenue fell by 2.5 percent to TWD101.42 billion in Q4 from TWD104.01 billion in Q3, according to the Wall Street Journal, while consolidated sales in December were down 20.3 percent on December 2010 to TWD26.36 billion.

For the full year, the picture was more positive, with net profit up 57 percent compared to 2010 at TWD62.05 billion.

The company’s stock declined 42 percent in value in 2011, with only RIM performing worse out of the global smartphone makers. HTC has said it will launch new models in February with a number featuring LTE connectivity aimed at the US market.

HTC cut its fourth quarter revenue outlook by 20 percent in November due to the “macro economic downturn and market competition.” This prompted its share price to fall by 28 percent during the following two weeks and 15 percent to date.

Apple recently succeeded in securing a US International Trade Commission ban on the sale of some HTC handsets in the US from April 2012, on the grounds of patent infringement. However, HTC said it would remove the technology related to the patent in question from all phones.