Despite major structural changes and an exclusive push to the Android OS, Sony Ericsson still posted a significant loss in the fourth quarter.
The European smartphone maker said it lost 207 million euros (~$267 million) in the final quarter of last year. Its total sales were around $1.7 billion less than they were in the previous year.
In addition, Sony Ericsson actually managed to post a profit of more than $10 million in the same period 12 months earlier.
The company made a lot of changes in 2011, including switching over exclusively to Android and increasing its marketing expenditure in the US.
One of the big flops for the mobile firm was the Xperia Play, a “Playstation Certified” smartphone that looked more like a PSP than a phone. The only problem is that it was less powerful than most other smartphones, and to be blunt, gamers who are hardcore enough to want a dedicated gaming phone would not be satisfied with the Play.
Sony Ericsson as we know it today will dissolve soon as Sony has decided to buy out Ericsson’s stake in the joint venture. This means moving forward we are much more likely to see Playstation-branded phones and more high-end devices that fit the Sony brand.
So we’ll see if that transition helps bolster Sony’s presence in mobile, which is a strong part of the company’s 2012 strategy.
The Ericsson buyout deal will be complete by the end of next month.
