InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

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Reuters
UPDATE - Sony Ericsson Q1 profit soars, gains market share
Monday April 19, 2:53 am ET


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STOCKHOLM, April 19 (Reuters) - Swedish-Japanese mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson (Stockholm:ERICb.ST - News; Tokyo:6758.T - News) reported first-quarter profit more than twice the consensus forecast on Monday thanks to a booming market and cost cutting and said it gained market share.



The fifth-largest producer of handsets made a pre-tax profit of 97 million euros ($119.5 million) in the January-March period against expectations of 44 million euros in a Reuters poll of analysts and a 113 million loss a year earlier.

Sales were 1.34 billion euros against consensus of 1.23 billion euros and 806 million the year earlier. Sony Ericsson said it sold 8.8 million phones in the quarter, beating consensus expectations of 7.3 million. The year before it sold 5.4 million units.

"Market share is estimated to have increased during the quarter thanks to strong demand and increased operational efficiencies," the company said in a statement, but gave no figures.

The much stronger-than-expected results contrast with the first-quarter report of Finland's Nokia (NOK1V.HE), the world's biggest mobile phone maker. Nokia disappointed investors on Friday with an admission that its handset portfolio was not up to scratch and that it was losing market share.

Nokia lost market share, most likely to South Korea's Samsung (KSE:005930.KS - News), the world's third-largest mobile phone maker after Motorola (NYSE:MOT - News). Samsung posted record earnings on Friday and said it expected sales to continue rising in the second quarter.

Nokia forecast second-quarter earnings would fall and sales could also drop. Sony Ericsson gave no forecast for the second quarter, but said it now expected the market in 2004 to expand to 550 million handsets against a previous forecast of 520 million.