Sony Ericsson reports difficult Q3

Handset maker, Sony Ericsson, has reported its results for the third quarter, revealing the worst quarterly performance for five years.

Worldwide sales of Sony Ericsson’s handsets fell 10% on year, resulting in a quarterly net loss of €25 million.

This is compared to quarterly profit of €267 million in the third quarter of 2007.

The loss was not as bad as analysts had anticipated. Analysts had forecast losses in excess of €70 million.

Sony Ericsson said cost cutting measures are going according to plan, although analysts believe the company has yet to regain footing on solid ground.

Greger Johansson, an analyst at Redeye, said although the results were better than anticipated, the outlook for Sony Ericsson ’seems rather uncertain’.

President of Sony Ericsson Dick Komiyama said that the company might need to engage in cost cutting measures if market conditions remain weak.

The company has already announced plans to axe 2,000 jobs worldwide, and will be cutting back its range of mobile phones 20% in a bid to cut costs further.

Komiyama added that consumer confidence is falling on a daily basis, hitting sales hard.

Sales in Europe struggled during the third quarter as consumers wary of the turmoil in financial markets cut their spending.

In addition, the company does not have a range of low-cost entry level handsets that would boost sales in emerging markets such as India and China.