Mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson has reported a loss of €213m for the second quarter of 2009, as it experienced a sharp decline in its handset sales. The company reported a profit of €6m for the year-ago quarter.
The weak sales performance was due to difficult market conditions in all regions, particularly in Latin America, the company said. It has shipped 13.8 million units during the quarter, down 43% compared with the same period last year.
For the second quarter of 2009, the company posted revenue of €1.68 billion, down 40%, compared to €2.82 billion for the same quarter of 2008.
The joint venture between Sweden’s Ericsson and Japan’s Sony, said that its market share was over 5%, compared to 6% in the previous quarter.
The company’s gross margin improved sequentially to 12%, despite lower volumes and sales, driven by a favourable product mix and less material write-off costs than the first quarter, Sony Ericsson said.
Komiyama, president of Sony Ericsson, said: “As expected, the second quarter was challenging and we still believe the remainder of the year will be difficult for Sony Ericsson.
“Our focus remains on bringing the company back to profitability and growth as quickly as possible, and our performance is starting to improve due to our cost reduction activities.”
Sony Ericsson expects the global handset market for 2009 to shrink by at least 10% from around 1,190 million units in 2008.
