Sony reported its latest three-month results for the quarter ended 30 September 2019, and it remains a sober read for the performance of its mobile business. The launch of the Xperia 1 appears to have made no difference to shipments, as Sony shipped just 600,000 units – its lowest number of shipments ever, down by over 60 per cent year-on-year.
Sony hasn’t given any colour on the decline, but losing scale and dropping a number of regions is likely leading to a spiralling fall in unit sales. As a result, Sony has once again lowered its full year forecast – now expecting full year shipments of just 3.5 million units (from 4.0 million previously). This means it needs to sell 2 million units in the second half of the year, which isn’t guaranteed given current run rates.
Sony needs the Xperia 5 to sell strongly, and it seems to have had a generally positive reaction so far. Pricing and marketing will be key. Can Sony turn this smartphone malaise around in your view? We’d love to hear your thoughts below.
Sony’s Q2 FY2019 results for mobile
Thanks Diogo!
