Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 6, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
According to http://www.idc.com, Nokia was able to further expand its global market share in the second quarter. Mainly due to strong growth in Asia and Europe, the number one among mobile phone manufacturers sold 110.8 million mobile phones (up 28.6 percent). In the second quarter, Nokia’s revenue increased to 12.6 billion euros (up 28 percent), and net profit climbed to 2.28 billion euros (up 148 percent).
Sony Ericsson had satisfactory quarterly results; the competitors in the other ranks are also said to have performed well, with the exception of Motorola. According to IDC, Samsung increased its sales figures by 48.4 percent to 37.4 million units. With a market share of 13.7 percent, the company is far behind Nokia, but was able to displace Motorola (13 percent) from second place. Samsung generated revenue of 11.95 billion euros in the past quarter (up four percent); profit fell by more than a third to 721 million euros. In the same period, Sony Ericsson recorded revenue growth of around 37 percent to 3.1 billion euros; pre-tax profit was 327 million euros (up 55 percent).
Motorola, by contrast, has hardly any chance of a recovery in the second half of the year either, according to Pitz’s assessment. “If the company does not manage to bring a new, innovative model to market relatively quickly, a slow decline in its market position could begin”, says UniCredit analyst Roland Pitz. Market researcher Ovum http://www.ovum.com also currently sees the company’s product portfolio as its biggest problem. Motorola has missed the connection both to Nokia’s N-Series and to Sony Ericsson’s success. The company has so far been unable to build on the success of its Razr model. According to IDC, the company sold almost a third fewer mobile phones in the second quarter than in the comparative period of the previous year. The quarterly results were worse than expected. Revenue fell to 8.73 billion dollars (2006: 10.82 billion dollars), while the operating loss was 158 million dollars (2006: profit of 1.52 billion dollars). In addition, in mid-July Motorola issued a revenue and profit warning for the full year.
With around 262 million mobile phones sold worldwide in the second quarter, Apple’s iPhone is said to have had no measurable influence. Other smartphone providers such as Nokia or Sony Ericsson, however, are said to have benefited from the reporting surrounding the iPhone. “The advertising campaigns and interest in the product have brought the smartphone back to the forefront. As a result, customers discover that Nokia and Sony Ericsson also offer good smartphones”, says an analyst. If the iPhone is marketed worldwide under the US distribution model, other providers would additionally use the opportunity to sell other smartphone models. “For competitors, it is therefore more an opportunity than a burden”, says Pitz.
