The company’s overall cell phone shipment ranking fell to sixth place in the second quarter, down from fourth in the first quarter. This marked the first time in at least three years that Sony Ericsson didn’t rank among the Top 5 global cell phone brands. While shipments rose 4.8 percent compared to the first quarter, close rivals Research in Motion and ZTE surpassed Sony Ericsson because their growth rates were larger.
On the other side of the equation, Sony Ericsson achieved a 15.4 percent increase in smart phone shipments during the second quarter. This made Sony Ericsson the fourth fastest growing smart phone brand during the second quarter.
“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 Tina Teng, senior analyst for wireless communications at iSuppli.
“Given that cell phone penetration has reached 73.4 percent of the earth’s population, shipment growth is slowing markedly. Meanwhile, average pricing for mobile phones has declined to extremely low levels and willcontinue to decrease in the coming years. In contrast, smart phones and feature phones continue to offer fast growth and strong profit margins.”
Global shipments of all kinds of cell phones are set to rise at a CAGR of 6.9 percent from 2009 to 2014, down from the 13.9 CAGR for the period of 2003 to 2008. In contrast, smart phone shipments will rise by 22.7 percent from 2009 to 2014.
The table presents iSuppli’s global cell phone market share in the second quarter.
Source: iSuppli, USA.With its shift to the higher-end phone market, Sony Ericsson is mirroring the strategy of Motorola, which has been withdrawing from the market for mainstream cell phones in order to focus on its high-end Droid smart phone line. Sony Ericsson in 2010 entered the Android smart phone marketplace, and it has offered phones like the Xperia line that uses the Android operating system.
The strategic shift is already apparent in Sony Ericsson’s second- and third-quarter results.
For the second quarter, the company’s gross margin amounted to 28 percent, more than double the 12 percent the same time a year ago. Its average selling price in the second quarter of 2010 also rose to 160 euros, up 31.1 percent from 122 euros during
the similar year-ago period.
Overall, smart phones represented 13.6 percent of Sony Ericsson’s total mobile handset shipments in the second quarter of 2010, more than double the 5.8 percent seen during the second quarter of 2009.
Although the Average Selling Price (ASP) slipped by 3.8 percent in the third quarter compared to the second quarter, its gross margin and operating profit rose again. The company’s gross margins amounted to 30 percent in the third quarter, compared to 16 percent a year earlier. Sony Ericsson’s third-quarter operating profit market equaled 4 percent, up from 2 percent in the second quarter and a 4 percent decline in the third quarter of 2009.
The company said smart phones comprised more than 50 percent of its total sales in the third quarter.
Source: iSuppli, USA.
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