Sony Ericsson reported a loss of $266 million in the fourth quarter, its last one as a joint venture before Sony takes over.
Bert Nordberg, president and CEO of Sony Ericsson, said the company's results for the quarter reflected "intense competition, unfavorable macroeconomic conditions and the effects of a natural disaster in Thailand this quarter," noting that despite these challenges, the company has managed to shift its business from a focus on feature phones to smartphones.
Sony Ericsson's Android-based smartphone sales in the quarter increased by 65 percent year-on-year. In total, the company shipped 9 million units during the quarter, a 20 percent decrease year-on-year and a 5 percent decrease compared to last quarter.
The year-on-year and sequential declines reflect a significantly lower number of feature phones shipped, partially offset by an increase in smartphone shipments. Sony Ericsson has shipped 28 million Xperia smartphones to date.
The company estimates that its share of the global Android-based smartphone market was 10 percent in volume and 7 percent in value during the quarter and 10 percent in volume and 10 percent in value for the full year.
Average selling price (ASP) for the quarter was $184, up 5 percent year-on-year but down 14 percent sequentially. Again, Sony Ericsson attributes the increase to its shift to smartphones and geographic mix. The sequential decrease in ASP is attributed to geographic and product mix, including declining prices of products launched earlier in the year and the absence of new products introduced in the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was last before an agreement goes into effect that will make Sony Ericsson a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony. Sony acquired Ericsson's portion of the venture for $1.35 billion, and the transaction is expected to close by February.