Samsung and Motorola Shine in Q1 Mobile-Phone Rankings

Samsung Electronics and Motorola defied the normal seasonal slowdown in mobile-phone unit production in the first quarter, allowing them to significantly boost their market share, according to iSuppli Corp. Worldwide mobile-phone production in the first quarter amounted to 220 million units, down 9.5% from 243 million units in the fourth quarter of 2005, according to the research firm. Mobile-phone shipments typically decelerate in the first quarter following the holiday selling season in the fourth quarter. With this mind, the first quarter was actually a robust period for the mobile-phone market, with shipments rising 26.1% compared to the first quarter of 2005. This robust performance has prompted iSuppli to raise its annual forecast for mobile-phone shipments in 2006.

Samsung and Motorola outperform

The top-six mobile-phone makers were less impacted by the sequential slowdown than was the handset market as a whole, with their combined shipments declining by a relatively mild 6.3% during the first quarter.

Number-three handset maker Samsung achieved the best performance among the top-six players, with its unit production rising by 6.6%. The South Korean company produced 29 million mobile phones in the first quarter, up 1.8 million units from 27.2 million in the fourth quarter.

"Samsung's rise in production didn't come as a major surprise," said Tina Teng, wireless communications analyst for iSuppli. "The company's shipments were depressed by inventory-control efforts in the fourth quarter-and once those were completed, its production accelerated."

Meanwhile, number-two mobile-phone maker Motorola closed the gap with market-leader Nokia, as its share rose to 21%, up 2.6 percentage points from 18.4% in the fourth quarter of 2005. Motorola in the first quarter was just 13.1 percentage points behind Nokia, compared to 16 points in the fourth quarter.

The U.S. mobile-phone maker extended its lead over Samsung to 7.8% percentage points in the first quarter, up from 7.2 in the fourth quarter. The company's shipments rose to 46.1 million units in the first quarter, up 1.4 million from 44.7 million in the fourth quarter.

Motorola's unit shipments have been boosted at the high end by the popularity of its RAZR phone, and at the low end by the strong market acceptance of its new line of low-cost handsets. Rising shipments of low-cost handsets caused Motorola's Average Selling Prices (ASPs) to drop by 9% during the quarter.

iSuppli Figure: Top-Six Mobile Phone Makers in Q1 2006 Based on Production (Thousands of Units)

The ASP bites

ASP declines were a problem for most of the major mobile-phone makers in the first quarter, with four of the top-six players experiencing pricing reductions. These ranged from 4.9% for Sony Ericsson to 13% for LG Electronics.

"The overall ASP erosion among the top phone makers reflects a major shift in the mobile-phone market," said Scott Smyser, director and principal analyst for communications and consumer electronics for iSuppli. "The attraction of emerging markets in China, India and Brazil is encouraging phone makers to enter the market for low-cost handsets, which are popular among low-income consumers in those regions. While the rising production of inexpensive models caused a decrease in overall revenue, it is being offset to some degree by increased shipments of higher-end feature-rich or 3G phones."

The two exceptions were BenQ-Siemens, whose ASP rose by 13.3%, and Nokia, which saw average prices rise by 2.5%.

Nokia's strategy

Nokia's increased ASP was due to rising sales of higher-margin multimedia mobile phones. The company offers a complete product mix, which enables it to address underserved markets with voice-only models while increasing revenue by focusing on multimedia handsets and WEDGE phones, which have higher prices. Nokia's strategy has made it the number-one player in multiple regions and has allowed it to continue to gain market share in North America and Latin America.

iSuppli raises 2006 forecast

In light of the mobile-phone market's strong first-quarter performance, iSuppli is raising its forecast for 2006 to 932 million mobile-phone shipments, up from 900 million before. This represents growth of 13.7%, compared to our previous forecast of 9.8%.

Factors driving increased shipments include an expected doubling in shipments of EDGE phones and a nearly two-and-a-half times increase in W-CDMA phone production compared to 2005."

Posted to the site on 4th May 2006