Sony Ericsson Doubles Q1 Profits

Sony Ericsson has reported a sharp rise in its first quarter profits, with net income jumping to EUR 254 ($346) millionfrom EUR 109 (US$148) million a year earlier. Sales rose by 47 percent to EUR 2.93 (US$3.98) billion. The company shipped 21.8 million handsets in the quarter, a 63% increase compared to the same period last year.

"Sony Ericsson has made a very positive start to the year selling 63% more phones in the first quarter than a year ago. The strong sales and solid financial performance demonstrate a continuation of the momentum we established last year," said Miles Flint, President of Sony Ericsson.

Sony Ericsson reported that it had strong growth in Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe. The company captured market share in these markets through low and mid-tier products such as the W300 and W200 Walkman phones and the K310 camera phone without undermining profitability.

Sony Ericsson forecasts that the 2007 global handset market will be above 1.1 billion units. The company believes that in Q1 2007 it grew market share around 2 percentage points compared with the same period last year to over 8%.

Sony Ericsson will make a total payment of EUR 848 million to its parent companies in 2007 in the form of dividends, or both a dividend and a capital redemption."

Posted to the site on 20th April 2007