Smartphone firm HTC reports sixth fall in profits

HTC makes smartphones in partnership with Google and Microsoft

Smartphone manufacturer HTC has reported a 31% fall in profits for the fourth quarter.

The world's fourth-biggest smartphone maker said profits were $175m (£109m) for the last three months of 2009.

That marks the company's sixth-straight decline in quarterly profit, with sales also down 13%.

On Tuesday, HTC announced it would be manufacturing Google's first own-brand smartphone - the Nexus One - in a move that it hopes will boost sales.

It currently makes smartphones running operating systems from Google and Microsoft.

The smartphone market is currently dominated by Nokia, RIM - which makes the Blackberry, and Apple's iPhone.