Samsung now No. 2 global handset maker
Motorola drops to third place on weak European and Asian sales
Samsung Electronics became the world's second-largest supplier of wireless handsets in the second quarter following weak European and Asian sales at Motorola Inc., which slid to the third position even as the entire market continued to experience solid growth.
Seoul, South Korea-based Samsung, shipped 37.4 million mobile phones in the three months ended June 30, compared with the range of 35 million to 36 million units tentatively reported earlier by Motorola. The Schaumburg, Ill., company now trails front runner Nokia by an even larger margin than before although the Finnish rival has yet to announce its second quarter sales.
Motorola's weak second quarter sales are not representative of the industry, based on figures so far released by two other manufacturers, including Sony Ericsson, which said handset shipments soared 59 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period in 2006.
Sony Ericsson reported unit handset shipment climbed to 24.9 million from 21.8 million in the first quarter of this year and 15.7 million in the year-ago quarter. At Samsung, handset unit shipments rose 9 percent from the first quarter and 49 percent from the second quarter of 2006.
"We believe Sony Ericsson will see shares continue to rise and operating margins expand as new launches slated for second half 2007 occur and make the OEM more competitive in high-end handset by year end," said Matthew Hoffman, an analyst at SG Cowen Securities, in a research report.
Sony Ericsson secured its market share gains partly by outselling rivals in developing markets such as Latin America, Middle East and Africa. The company compensated for the resulting margin pressures in these regions by adding high-end products in the saturated markets of Western Europe.
"We expect the market in 2007 to remain competitive, but with recently announced products such as the flagship Walkman and Cyber-shot models we aim to continue to grow faster than the market," said Miles Flint, president of Sony Ericsson in a statement announcing its results.
Samsung is similarly expecting demand for its handsets to increase in the traditionally stronger second half. The company forecasts its total wireless handset shipment for 2007 will increase more than 32 percent to exceed 150 million units and said it expects to increase its overall share of the market.
Samsung Electronics became the world's second-largest supplier of wireless handsets in the second quarter following weak European and Asian sales at Motorola Inc., which slid to the third position even as the entire market continued to experience solid growth.
Seoul, South Korea-based Samsung, shipped 37.4 million mobile phones in the three months ended June 30, compared with the range of 35 million to 36 million units tentatively reported earlier by Motorola. The Schaumburg, Ill., company now trails front runner Nokia by an even larger margin than before although the Finnish rival has yet to announce its second quarter sales.
Motorola's weak second quarter sales are not representative of the industry, based on figures so far released by two other manufacturers, including Sony Ericsson, which said handset shipments soared 59 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period in 2006.
Sony Ericsson reported unit handset shipment climbed to 24.9 million from 21.8 million in the first quarter of this year and 15.7 million in the year-ago quarter. At Samsung, handset unit shipments rose 9 percent from the first quarter and 49 percent from the second quarter of 2006.
"We believe Sony Ericsson will see shares continue to rise and operating margins expand as new launches slated for second half 2007 occur and make the OEM more competitive in high-end handset by year end," said Matthew Hoffman, an analyst at SG Cowen Securities, in a research report.
Sony Ericsson secured its market share gains partly by outselling rivals in developing markets such as Latin America, Middle East and Africa. The company compensated for the resulting margin pressures in these regions by adding high-end products in the saturated markets of Western Europe.
"We expect the market in 2007 to remain competitive, but with recently announced products such as the flagship Walkman and Cyber-shot models we aim to continue to grow faster than the market," said Miles Flint, president of Sony Ericsson in a statement announcing its results.
Samsung is similarly expecting demand for its handsets to increase in the traditionally stronger second half. The company forecasts its total wireless handset shipment for 2007 will increase more than 32 percent to exceed 150 million units and said it expects to increase its overall share of the market.
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