Shares of Taiwan’s HTC have fallen after US customs officials held up shipments of its new smartphones.

In December, HTC was found guilty of infringing a patent held by Apple and there is a ban on the sale of any HTC phones in the US that use technology involving that patent.

The HTC One X is among the world's first quad-core smartphones. (Photo credit: Abe Olandres / TechWireAsia)

HTC said that it had altered its technology and design, but that the shipments still require inspection.

Its shares dropped 6.6% to close at NT$411 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

“The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard US customs review of shipments that is required after an International Trade Commission exclusion order,” the firm said in a statement.

Setback

Last month, it reported that its first quarter net profit had dropped by 70% from a year earlier.

Via BBC News.