Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB said yesterday that its third-quarter net profit slipped even as it increased the number of handsets sold and revenue rose.
The company earned 267 million euros (US$377.7 million) in the July-to-September period, compared with 298 million euros a year earlier.
The company blamed the decline in profit on a defection to its low to mid-range priced phones, which, on average, cost around 120 euro, cheaper than the premium range.
The company's high-end phones, including its P1 smart phone and the W580 slider Walkman phone, which can cost significantly more, sold well, but not enough to offset the imbalance with its lower priced phones.
Sales rose to 3.1 billion euros, up nearly 7 percent from 2.9 billion euros in the third-quarter of last year.
The company said it shipped 25.9 million cellphones worldwide, an increase of 31 percent from the 19.8 million phones shipped a year ago. The company said it saw solid gains worldwide, including in key markets in Europe, North America and Latin America.
"The quarter has seen Sony Ericsson continue to generate significant year-on-year volume growth with a portfolio of products spread across the widest variety of price points in the company's history," Sony Ericsson President Miles Flint said in a statement.
"We are confident that the remainder of the year will see us further capitalize on this new broader portfolio with flagship Walkman phone models such as the W910 and W960 plus the much anticipated 5 megapixel Cyber-shot K850 camera phone launching in time for the holiday season," he said.
Sony Ericsson said it forecast that the total number of sales of cellphones worldwide, including those from rivals like Nokia Corp, Samsung and Motorola Inc, will be more than 1.1 billion. By the end of the third quarter, Sony Ericsson said it had about 9 percent of the world's market share, putting it behind Finland's Nokia, the No. 1.
IPO
Meanwhile, Japan's biggest initial public offering of the year opened yesterday with shares of Sony Corp's financial unit rising 5 percent in their trading debut.
Sony Financial Holdings Inc raised ?348 billion (US$2.97 billion) in selling shares on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The stock was fetching ?420,000 in early afternoon trading, 5 percent higher than the IPO price of ?400,000.
The IPO is the biggest in Japan since Aozora Bank Ltd's ?379.97 billion listing last November.
Sony Corp has long planned an IPO for the unit. Sony Financial Holdings operates Sony Bank as well as life and other insurance companies. It accounted for 9 percent of Sony's group revenue in the fiscal year ended March.
Sony Financial has said it plans to use the money from the offering for the establishment of an annuity business joint venture with Aegon International NV.
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