Sony Ericsson reported losses of €50m on sales of €1.2bn, which were down 32pc year-on-year, which it blamed on the Japanese earthquake. The company’s losses were in stark contrast to profits of €12m last year.
“Sony Ericsson’s second quarter profitability was affected by the March 11 earthquake in Japan,” Bert Nordberg, president and CEO of Sony Ericsson explained.
“We estimate that the impact of earthquake-related supply chain constraints on our portfolio was close to 1.5m units, with most of the effect in the early part of the quarter.”
Sony Ericsson’s shift to Android
Nordberg said that the company’s move to Google’s mobile operating system Android is paying off, with Android device sales capturing the majority of its revenues.
“Our shift to Android-based smartphones continues with smartphone sales accounting for more than 70pc of our total sales during the quarter,” Nordberg said.
“We have shipped more than 16m Xperia smartphones to date. We have introduced eight new Xperia smartphones this year and we continue to see strong consumer and operator demand across the Xperia smartphone portfolio,” Nordberg added.
Units shipped during the quarter were 7.6m, a 31pc decrease year-on-year and a 6pc decrease sequentially, due to a decrease in volume caused by constrained supply of critical components and an anticipated decline in the number of feature phones shipped.
Average selling price (ASP) for the quarter was €156, a 3pc decrease year-on-year but an 11pc increase sequentially. The year-on-year decrease is due to product and geographic mix and price erosion, Sony Ericsson said.
Sony Ericsson estimates its share in the global Android-based smartphone market during the quarter was about 11pc in volume and 11pc in value.
