Sony Ericsson’s search for a return to profit continues today as the mobile-phone manufacturer reported a widening net loss in the third quarter of 2009, when compared to the same quarter a year previous. However, the company did say the decline in the global handset market is slowing down.
Sony Ericsson has been in the red since the second quarter of 2008 and this latest quarter was no different. The group posted a net loss of €164m for the third quarter, up from the loss of €25m reported in Q3 2008.
However, the group’s Q3 result does represent an improvement on the €213m loss reported in the previous quarter and it also beat analysts’ expectations, who were predicting a net loss for the group in the third quarter of €227m.
The group said it shipped 14.1 million units during Q3, which is 2pc increase quarter-on-quarter and a decrease of 45pc year-on-year. It estimated its market share in units was about 5pc during the quarter.
Q3 sales
Sales for the quarter were €1,619m, Sony Ericsson said, which represents a quarter-on-quarter decline of 4pc and a year-on-year drop of 42pc.
The group predicted a 10pc contraction in the global mobile phone handset in 2009 from the 1,190 million units sold in 2008.
“Our business in the third quarter started to show the effects of our ongoing transformation programme,” said outgoing Sony Ericsson president, Dick Komiyama.
“Having refreshed our brand we are now better positioned to support the launch of new products such as Aino and Satio in Q4 2009.
“We have cleared channel inventories, and have continued to realign internal resources and improve efficiency. We have also arranged external financing to strengthen the company’s financial position,” he added.
Nokia loss
Sony Ericsson’s rival, the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia, yesterday posted a surprise loss for its third quarter as a result of goodwill charges on Nokia Siemens Networks.
Article courtesy of businessandleadership.com
Photo: Outgoing president of Sony Ericsson, Dick Komiyama.
