HTC cut total executive salaries, bonuses, and retirement pay in half last year, following poor financial results and lower-than-expected smartphone sales. In its annual report published today, spotted by the Wall Street Journal, HTC said it paid its top executives NT$660.5 million ($21.94 million) in 2012, down 51.4 percent from NT$1.36 billion ($45.18 million) in 2011. As the Taiwanese smartphone maker reduced costs, HTC CEO Peter Chou and president of engineering Fred Lui both saw their total compensation fall below NT$100 million ($3.3 million) for the first time in two years.
After seeing explosive growth between 2010 and 2011, HTC has seen its market share slide following strong competition from Samsung and Apple, poor marketing, and product delays. Last month, we reported that the company was losing top executives (some of which have since been replaced) as sales of the HTC First Facebook phone barely got off the ground. At HTC's annual shareholder meeting, Chou, who recently said that he would stick it out through the company's hard times, urged investors to be "patient" as it looks to push sales of its HTC One flagship smartphone with an increased focus on marketing. HTC is rumored to have paid $12 million for a two-year marketing campaign featuring Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr, rivalling Samsung's investment to give away one million copies of Jay Z's new album to Galaxy smartphone owners.
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