Sony Ericsson tops forecast

Slashdot It! Mobile-phone maker Sony Ericsson posted higher-than-expected earnings on Thursday, but the company's average selling price for its phones showed a steeper-than-forecast decline. Sony Ericsson, owned by Ericsson and Sony, said it made a pretax profit of 384 million euros ($542 million) versus $459 million in the second quarter and $600 million a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected third-quarter pretax profit of $503 million euros. The company had sales of $4.37 billion versus a forecast of $4.62 billion. Sony Ericsson said the average selling price of its mobile phones, a key indicator for the firm's profitability, declined to $169. That was down from $176 in the second quarter and from $207 a year earlier. Analysts in the Reuters poll had predicted a third-quarter average selling price of $174. Units shipped in the quarter reached approximately 26 million, a 31 percent increase from a year earlier and in line with what analysts had forecast. "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," said Sony Ericsson President Miles Flint. Flint, who is stepping down and will be succeeded by Sony veteran Hideki Komiyama in November, said products such as the W200 Walkman phone have been key volume drivers. "We are confident that the remainder of the year will see us further capitalize on this new broader portfolio," Flint said in a statement. He said the firm's Cyber-shot K850 camera phone will launch in time for the holiday season. Get paid to blog