Report: Mitsubishi Electric drops handsets

Mitsubishi Electric Co. will shutter its mobile handset business, according to Nikkei, a Japanese business newspaper. The move would leave Mitsubishi’s main customer – network operator NTT DoCoMo Inc. – waiting for promised handsets.
In early February, Mitsubishi had lowered its estimate of annual unit shipments to 2.1 million, down from 3.2 million for the fiscal year ending March 31. The company estimated that its handset business generated about $966 million in annual revenue, but said that it had become unprofitable.
The company said that it found it “difficult” to see growth in demand in the Japanese market. Mitsubishi Electric, based in Tokyo, also is involved in information processing, communications, space technology and consumer electronics.
Analysts have predicted for some time that various Japanese handset vendors might exit the market, as growth leveled off in the domestic market.