Taiwan's troubled smartphone maker HTC has reported a net loss of 4.48bn New Taiwan dollars ($137.63m; £90.8m) for the three months to September.

The figure compares to a net profit of about 600m New Taiwan dollars for the same period a year earlier.

The one-time market leader has struggled to compete against smartphones made by Samsung and Apple, among other firms.

HTC has also been dropped from the index of Taiwan's 50 largest firms.

The move followed a 66% slide in its share price this year and meant it could no longer trade on Taiwan's benchmark TWSE 50 index.

Foreign investors are usually reluctant to hold shares not listed on the main Taiwan index.

The weak results for the three months to September came as no surprise as the company had earlier issued a profit warning.

It has also said it is undergoing a massive restructuring program that will see some 15% of its workforce slashed.

In August the firm said its quarterly net loss for the three months to June was 8bn Taiwan new dollars.

HTC, which was founded in the 1990s, made the world's first Android smartphone. It started out manufacturing notebook computers and created some of the first touch screen, handheld devices.

(BBC)