Mobile phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson today reported a 48% drop in net profits in the first quarter on slumping sales, saying its results had been hit by the devastating earthquake in Japan.
The Japanese-Swedish group, the sixth-biggest player in the global market, reported a net profit of €11m, down from the €21m a year earlier.
The company also reported a sales slump of 18.5%, to €1.15 billion, as the number of units shipped during the quarter plunged 23% to 8.1 million.
Sony Ericsson attributed that drop to a 'decline in the number of feature phones shipped, introduction of new products towards the end of the quarter and seasonality.'
Chief executive Bert Nordberg said that 'the Japan earthquake made it a challenging quarter operationally and we are experiencing some disruptions to our supply chain.'
Despite the downward trend, Nordberg emphasised that the company, which returned to profit last year after a 2009 deep in the red, had seen its 'profitability continue as we accelerate our shift towards an Android-based smartphone portfolio.'
During the first quarter, smartphones accounted for more than 60% of total sales for the company, which holds a 5% share of the global market for such devices in terms of units sold and a 3% market share in terms of value.
The company said it expected to see 'modest growth in total units in the global handset market for 2011.'
