Sony Ericsson has turned a profit for the third consecutive quarter, but blames component shortages for falling short of market forecasts.
It posted quarterly earnings of €49 million ($68.4m), compared with a loss of €164 million in the same period in 2009, the company announced Friday.
But sales and profit fell short of analysts’ forecasts. Revenue tipped €1.6 billion – broadly flat with 3Q09 – but below the €1.8 billion analysts had expected, Reuters reported.
A Bloomberg analysts’ poll had predicted net income of €59 million.
“There are supply chain shortages on the market, and that has affected us,” CEO Bert Nordberg told Reuters. “Our volume did not meet expectations. That is the one reason sticking out.”
He said in a statement that the result showed performance was “stabilizing,” with smartphones now accounting for more than 50% of sales.
With a focus on the Android OS, as it abandoned its long commitment to Symbian, the firm estimates the 10.4 million units sold during 3Q10 gave it a 4% share of the global handset market.
While Nordberg said Sony Ericsson would evaluate Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 platform, but said the vendor aimed to become the world’s leading Android handset maker.
Despite the high-end focus, average selling price fell 4% quarter-on-quarter to €154 as it added more mid-tier units during the period. ASP is likely to fall further in the fourth quarter, finance director Bill Glaser said.
Gross margin doubled to 30% year-on-year, however operating margins remain tight at 4%.
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