For the fourth quarter to December 31, the handset partnership recorded net income of 43m euros ($53.2m), up from a loss of 69m euros ($85.4m) on revenue 16.4% higher at 1.4bn euros ($1.78bn). For the year, the company made a loss of 86m euros ($118.8m), down from a loss of 241m euros ($298.3m) on revenue 11.9% higher at 4.67bn euros ($5.78bn).
After a year which started with Sony Corp and LM Ericsson Telefon AB investing an extra 300m euros ($324.6m) in their under-performing joint venture, and the company phased out its North American CDMA offerings, the company finally came good in the second half with a range of well-received new handsets.
Units shipped in the year rose 18.8% to 27.2 million. While Sony Ericsson estimates that a third of phones shipped last year were equipped with cameras, and expects the proportion to rise further this year, the average value of each fell 5.7% to 171.80 euros ($212.60).
Sony Ericsson forecasts that the market in 2004 will rise by about 10% from the 470 million units it estimates were shipped in 2003. Though it is currently the fifth largest manufacturer behind Nokia, Motorola, Siemens and Samsung, Sony Ericsson is looking to increase its market share this year.
This article is based on material originally published by ComputerWire.
