Handset manufacturer Sony Ericsson confirmed last week that it will not reach its financial targets this quarter.

The joint venture between the Japanese and Swedish firms has already issued one profit warning this year and said that it will now only break even during the second quarter.

Sony Ericsson has fallen victim to a general decline in mobile phone sales brought on by economic conditions, with the company said to be particularly vulnerable to a dip in spending levels because many of its handsets are geared towards the higher end of the market.

"Although phones are still considered essential and if you do not have one you will try to find the money to buy one, what we are seeing is that the people that have a phone are not necessarily upgrading," Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi told the Times.

Profits at Sony Ericsson fell by 47 per cent during the first three months of the year.

The company recently slipped to fifth place in the league table of global handset manufacturers and now trails Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and LG in terms of worldwide sales.


Monday, 30th June 2008

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