Sony Ericsson experienced a loss of €247m in the fourth quarter of 2011, blaming stronger competition, economic conditions and restructuring charges for Sony’s buyout of the joint venture.
The smartphone company shipped 9m units throughout the quarter, a 20pc decrease year-on-year and a 5pc decrease since the previous quarter. There were significant declines on feature phones shipped, which was partially offset by smartphone shipments.
Sales for the quarter amounted to €1.3bn, down 16pc year-on-year and 19pc since the last quarter. Their Xperia smartphones accounted for 80pc of total sales in this quarter.
“Our fourth-quarter results reflected intense competition, unfavourable macroeconomic conditions and the effects of a natural disaster in Thailand this quarter,” said Bert Nordberg, president and CEO of Sony Ericsson.
“We are aligning our business to drive profitability and to meet customer needs. In spite of these challenges, throughout 2011 we’ve shifted our business from feature phones to smartphones, and our Android-based smartphone sales in the quarter increased by 65pc year-on-year.
“The Xperia portfolio, including the recently announced Xperia NXT series, will serve as a cornerstone of our smartphone lineup in 2012,” said Nordberg.
Sony is buying out Ericsson’s share of the company to let Sony add smartphones to its range of consumer technology products.
