Sony Ericsson saw various positives in its quarterly results, notably an increase in smartphone revenues. But this came at the expense of volume, and it has fallen out of the overall handset top five. The joint venture now lies in sixth place worldwide, according to research by iSuppli.
Total handset shipments increased 4.8% year-on-year in the third quarter, but this was not sufficient to fend off the higher growth rates of challengers like ZTE.
The top five now consists of Nokia, Samsung, LG, ZTE and RIM, though only the big three have 10% share or more, with other players separated only by small amounts.
According to iSuppli's estimates, Nokia had 36.2% share in the quarter, Samsung had 20.8% and LG 10%. ZTE has widened its lead over the rest of the pack, with 4.2% compared to RIM's 3.7%, but RIM is only marginally ahead of Sony Ericsson’s 3.6%, so the positions could well be reversed in Q4.
Lower down the top ten, the power of Chinese brands is shown by TCL-Alcatel, which was just ahead of Apple and Motorola, (though the smallest whisker separated these three, all on around 2.7%). Huawei rounded out the top 10 with 2.2%.
In smartphones, however, SEMC was the fourth fastest growing brand, with a 15.4% unit increase.
“With its shift in focus from volume to value-add, Sony Ericsson is positioning itself to cash in on the fastest growing and most profitable segment of the global wireless market,” said senior analyst Tina Teng.