Mobile phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson today reported a return to profit in 2010 thanks to its Android-based smartphones but its fourth quarter earnings and sales fell far short of analyst expectations.
The Japanese-Swedish group, now the sixth-biggest player in the global market, said that in the three months to December it made a net profit of just €8m on sales down 13% at €1.53 billion.
While the net profit was a vast improvement over the €167m loss posted in fourth quarter 2009, it missed analyst estimates, which averaged €68m.
The company's fourth quarter sales also fell far short of analyst expectations of €1.75 billion.
For all of 2010, the picture was a bit brighter, with a net profit of €90m, after a net loss €836m in 2009. However, full-year sales were down 7% to €6.29 billion.
In its efforts to return to profit, Sony Ericsson has over the past year laid off some 4,000 employees and has refocused its business on smart phones based on the Android platform developed by Google.
Last year 'was a turnaround year for Sony Ericsson. Our four consecutive quarters of profit reflect the success of our shift towards an Android-based smartphone portfolio,' company president and chief executive Bert Nordberg said.
The mobile phone maker estimates it last year accounted for 4% of the global market of 1.2 billion phones sold and 6% in terms of value.
Sony Ericsson, which in 2010 shipped 43.1 million phones, said it 'forecasts modest growth in units in the global handset market for 2011'.
