It’s official: LG by a neck over Sony Ericsson

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By Phil Carson
Story posted: June 3, 2008 - 1:40 pm EDT

Global sales of handsets in the first quarter jumped 13.6% over the year-ago quarter, reaching 294 million units, according to a recent report from Gartner.

Nokia Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and LG Electronics Co. accounted for most of that surge, with LG propelling itself into the No. 4 global ranking over Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications.

Various parties, from analysts to handset vendors, have given cautious forecasts for year-on-year growth in handset volumes this year that range from 4% to 10%. In April, Nokia reiterated its forecast for 10% growth in global handset shipments this year. Thus, the Gartner data appeared to suggest that global sales remain strong in the face of macroeconomic conditions.

Gartner found, however, that mobile phone sales in Western Europe actually dropped 16% in the first quarter over the year-ago quarter — a factor that worked against Sony Ericsson.

“LG capitalized on the attention the market has given to touchscreen devices since the launch of the Apple iPhone,” said Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner analyst. “(But) LG must remember that touchscreen phones do not appeal to everyone (and it) needs to build a stronger smartphone portfolio.”

LG shipped 23.6 million units in the first quarter, up from 16 million in the year-ago quarter, while Sony Ericsson shipped 22 million units, barely up from the 21.8 million it shipped in the year-ago quarter.

Sony Ericsson’s flat results caused it to lose nearly a point of market share, while LG gained nearly two points. Sony Ericsson attributed its weak results to the softness in Western European markets.

“With new products for the second half of 2008 and with a stronger mid-tier portfolio, Sony Ericsson is in a good position to win back its fourth place in the market-share rankings,” said Milanesi.

Gartner found that Nokia gained nearly four market share points over the year-ago quarter, Samsung gained two points, while Motorola Inc. lost 8.2 points of share on a steep decline in shipments. Motorola shipped 29.9 million units in the first quarter, down from the 47.6 million it shipped in the year-ago quarter.

The “other” category, which accounts for scores of second-tier handset vendors, actually gained 1.7%, according to Gartner’s data — perhaps a small sign that smartphone vendors and regional handset makers found opportunity in a market that in the past two years had been increasingly dominated by the top-tier vendors.