Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC said yesterday its first-quarter revenue plunged by more than half, but that losses in its struggling business should end later this year as it banks on a new flagship product.Revenue from January to March was down 64 percent year-on-year to NT$14.8 billion ($456 million), while net loss in the period was NT$2.6 billion, the company said in a statement. The loss - compared with profit of NT$360 million a year earlier - marked the fourth consecutive quarter of declines for HTC, once the star of the intensely competitive smartphone sector.Results were much worse than expected, according to Yuanta Securities, despite booking gains from selling some properties in the quarter. But Chief Financial Officer Chialin Chang was hopeful the recent launch of the HTC 10 in April would boost fortunes."From the internal management perspective, we are hoping the third quarter in the smartphone business we will be able to achieve a breakeven," Chang said.