Sony Ericsson Posts Disappointing Q2, Says Japanese Disasters Are to Blame
Things were looking up for Sony Ericsson as they looked to give their business a major uplift. In particular, unique and powerful devices sitting alongside entry-level desirables were expected to boost Sony Ericsson’s performance this quarter and slingshot them into the upper echelon of manufacturers as far as revenue and market share go.
Unfortunately, that slingshotting is going to be put on hold. This quarter, Sony Ericsson lost $70.5 million overall compared to the same quarter last year where they gained $17 million. They also only shipped 7.6 million devices, which brought in $1.7 billion in overall revenue compared to $2.5 the same quarter last year.
All of this is being blamed on the Japanese earthquake that caused a series of tsunamis and disrupted many Japanese businesses. It’s been a common excuse for OEMs who have done poorly since the earthquake, but those excuses can only remain valid for so long.
To credit Sony Ericsson, they were forced to delay the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo and Xperia Pro far past their expected launch dates. However, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, which was introduced at the exact same time of the aforementioned devices, has seen great market penetration in several regions. Q3 will tell the real story of Sony Ericsson’s performance, assuming no natural disasters occur between now and October. [Engadget]