Mobile-phone maker Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications showed significantly improved financials, but said it will not be able to make a profit for the full year as it once promised.
The company said it won’t be able to reach its promised 2003 profitability due to its sluggish sales and its withdrawal from the CDMA business. The announcement comes as little surprise as Sony Ericsson has struggled with tepid sales and a declining market share.
Sony Ericsson said it shipped a healthy 6.7 million phones in the quarter, and its net sales were about $1.2 billion. The company reported a net loss of about $98 million, which includes its CDMA restructuring costs. The numbers are an improvement from the $116 million loss the company reported in the previous quarter.
Sony Ericsson said it will be profitable in the second half of this year due to what it called “increasing momentum” in its new GSM and Japanese product portfolio.
Sony Ericsson dropped to a 5-percent market share in the first quarter of this year, according to Strategy Analytics, losing the No. 5 spot to Korean manufacturer LG Electronics. Motorola Inc., Nokia Corp. and others are scheduled to report earnings this week as well.
