A funny thing happens when a historically disorganized company finally gets its hands on a good product…
Sony’s mobile phone unit has proven to be profitable for the third quarter in a row, and it’s thanking the introduction of Android handsets as a major reason for bringing the company out of the red.
Riddled with inefficiencies and an unclear marketing message, Sony Ericsson had gone years with reported deficits or very low profits. But since the beginning of 2010, it’s managed to lift its feet off the ground and come back swinging.
That’s thanks in part to a new corporate strategy from CEO Bert Nordberg, but even Nordberg admits he couldn’t have done it without Android.
Of its latest earnings numbers, Nordberg said, “During the quarter, we launched our Android-based Xperia models in new markets, such as China and the U.S., and it is our ambition to become the global number one handset provider on the Android platform.”
With its shifting focus to Android, Sony Ericsson has decided to stop production on a lot of its lower-end mobile phones and now brand itself primarily as a smartphone maker. The company is expected to support Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone 7 platform, but it’s clearly Android where it’s showing the most growth.
During its fiscal quarter, ending September 30, Sony Ericsson posted a net profit of 49 million euros, or around $69 million. Bullish analysts had expected higher earnings, but it’s still seen as a victory for a mobile phone manufacturer that just last year was seen as an increasingly unorganized company.
