Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson today said it has returned to a profit of 8 million euros ($10.8 million) in the October-December period on the back of cost reduction programmes and sales of high-end smartphones.
In the year-ago period, the entity had a net loss of $167 million, Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between Japan's Sony and Swedish Ericsson, said in a statement.
Sony Ericsson said cost reductions and an increased focus on the high-margin smartphone segment helped the company to post its fourth consecutive quarterly profit.
The company's sales fell by 13 per cent from the year-ago period to 1.52 billion euros in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2010.
"2010 was a turnaround year for Sony Ericsson. Our four consecutive quarters of profit reflect the success of our shift towards an Android-based smartphone portfolio," Sony Ericsson President & CEO Bert Nordberg said.
During the quarter, Sony said it shipped 11.2 million mobile phones, a year-on-year decrease of 23 per cent, consistent with the streamlining of the portfolio to focus on higher-end smartphones.
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For the full year (January-December) 2010, the company's performance was quite encouraging as Sony Ericsson reported a a net profit of 90 million euros after a net loss of 836 million in 2009.
While, full-year sales were down seven per cent to 6.29 billion euros in 2010.
Sony Ericsson estimates that in 2010 it accounted for four per cent of the global market of 1.2 billion phones sold and six per cent in terms of value.
Looking ahead, the company said, it "forecasts modest growth in units in the global handset market for 2011."