Nokiatoday
reported improvements in quarterly sales and profits, but
rivalSony
Ericssonlost money again as trading
conditions and margins failed to improve.
Nokia claimed a 38% share of the 286 million-unit total handset
market for the quarter, and 41% of the estimated 41 million-unit
smartphone market. Sony Ericsson, which shipped 13.8 million units,
has an estimated 4.8% of the total market.
Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said competition remained
intense, but demand in the overall mobile device market appeared to
be bottoming out. Nokia's shipments for the quarter were down 15%
from year ago, but up 10% on the previous quarter, he said.
Kallasvuo said elements of the mobile handset, PC, internet and
media industries were converging to form a new industry. "Consumers
will increasingly expect devices and services designed as
integrated solutions. To capture this opportunity we are
accelerating our strategic transformation into a solutions
company," he said.
Dick Komiyama, president of Sony Ericsson, said his new product
portfolio, which integrates communications, entertainment and
social media applications should contribute to better sales when
shipments start later this year.
Both firms were still trying to save costs. Sony Ericsson was
aiming to save €880m by mid-2010, while Nokia announced 940 job
cuts.