Sony Ericsson Q4 results: fourth consecutive quarter of profit

2010 was a good year for Sony Ericsson - they just released their Q4 financial report and it's their fourth consecutive report that has them in the black. Their focus on high-end Android devices seems to be paying off and they plan to continue down that path with the XPERIA Arc.

Sony Ericsson shipped 11.2 million units during Q4 for a total of €1.528 billion in sales. The gross margin stayed at 30% - for comparison, Apple had a 38.5% gross margin. Still, the operating margin was just 3% and the net income for the quarter was just 8 million, driving the net income for the year to 90 million.

The holidays helped drive sales up, but lack of new models proved problematic and limited the increase. The average selling price was €136 for the fourth quarter, compared to €154 for Q3, the result of price erosion.

2010 marked Sony Ericsson's return to profitability but there were heavy changes that took place in the company - it consolidated its facilities and reduced its workforce by about 4,000 people. The overall cost of the restructuring charges for the year was €381 million but they reduced operating expenses by over €880 million.

Sony Ericsson estimates their world-wide market share in Q4 2010 as 3% in terms of units shipped and 5% in value.

The refresh of their portfolio is coming with heavy reinforcements from the Android XPERIA line (which has over 9 million units shipped since launch). The XPERIA Arc is already official and there are a few others churning in the rumor mill (like the XPERIA Play). 2011 may turn out to be an even better year for Sony Ericsson. And it's also the year they'll celebrate the company's 10th birthday.

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