HTC’s stock was hit hard on Tuesday following news of Samsung’s imminent Galaxy S III announcement, which couldn’t have come at a worse time for the struggling Taiwan-based vendor. HTC’s record growth in early 2011 was stunted later in the year as strong competition from the likes of Apple and Samsung shifted attention from the vendor’s aging smartphone lineup. The company is now in the process of launching its new line of One-series smartphones including the One X and One S, however Samsung’s announcement will come just weeks after HTC’s international One-series roll-out began, posing a serious threat to the company’s first-half comeback. Read on for more.

To compound matters, Reuters on Tuesday confirmed that HTC’s chief financial officer of less than a year has been moved to a corporate development role. Winston Yung oversaw deals such as HTC’s $300 investment in Beats Audio, a controversial move that has raised a number of questions about HTC’s strategy moving forward. Yung has been replaced by Chia-Lin Chang, formerly with Goldman Sachs and Motorola.

HTC’s new smartphone lineup will begin launching in the United States within a week with the imminent arrival of the One X on AT&T and the One S on T-Mobile. Both devices represent a huge step for HTC in terms of design and performance, but Samsung’s flagship device is expected to be a stunner with a massive marketing budget to support it. Considering Samsung’s history of big launches and widespread carrier support, HTC will certainly have its work cut out for it in the coming months.