Sony Ericsson Profits Tumble

The mobile handset maker has seen income, profits and operating income fall drastically during the second quarter of 2008 and is now looking at staff cuts.

The second quarter of this year hasn’t been kind of mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson. Its published figures have shown profits fall by 29%, income by a disastrous 98%, and operating income by an almost unbelievable 101%.

Although it has an 8% market share, the company blames the awful period on a shrinking market and increased competition among high-end handsets, and says it’s planning to cut 2,000 jobs in an attempt to trim almost half a billion dollars from its costs. It also expects to issue bleak news for the rest of 2008.

Sony Ericsson president Dick Komiyama said:

"We are aligning our operations and resources worldwide to meet an increasingly competitive business environment and to help restore our capability for profitable growth. The measures we are taking are aimed at becoming a faster, more agile and more cost efficient organization that can continue to create innovative products that excite consumers.”