O2's parent publishes Q3 results

Telefónica, which owns O2 in the UK, says its profits for the third quarter of 2008 were down 50% year-on-year... although it's worth noting that last year's figure included the sale of television company Endemol. In the UK, O2's revenue was up 8.7% and a record-breaking 277,593 'contract' customers had been added. [Sources: Telefonica press release; FT.com; Bloomberg.com]

AT&T profit hit by iPhone subsidy

AT&T's subsidy of the Apple iPhone combined with the phone's success has led to AT&T's profits dropping, according to its Q3 figures. AT&T paid $900 million to Apple for iPhone subsidies during the quarter. [Sources: Wired.com; CNN.com; ATT.com]

Motorola announces profit

Motorola's second-quarter results show that the company has made a profit of $4 million and is maintaining its market share with sales of over 28 million handsets. [Press release]

Ericsson publishes Q2 results

Ericsson has reported second-quarter results that show a 70% drop in profits to 1.9 billion Kronor (£159 million), with the Sony Ericsson partnership blamed for much of the fall. [Sources: Press release; TimesOnline.co.uk]

LG sales up

In a marked contrast with Sony Ericsson's recent results, LG's mobile phone sales have increased by 45% to help the company’s quarterly profits rise by 84% to 706.9 billion Won (£346 million). [Source: Bloomberg.com]

Sony Ericsson Q2 results show a challenging time

Sony Ericsson has reported a drop in profits, a drop in sales and a drop in phone prices for the second quarter of 2008. It had previously warned that its earnings were going to be down for Q2 2008. Profits were $9.5 million for the quarter, down from $348.6 million in the same quarter last year. Net sales were down 9.4% to $4.46 billion and the average selling price of a Sony Ericsson phone was $183.72, down from $191.64 in 2007. The company expects a challenging remainder of 2008, with the global handset market growing at around 10%. [Press release]

Sony Ericsson income down 48%; handset sales up 2%

Sony Ericsson has reported a drop in net income by 48% in the first quarter of 2008. Handset shipments were up by 2% to 22.3 million handsets, although the average selling price fell. The figures weren't a surprise as the company had previously warned its profits were going to drop, mainly due to higher research and development costs. [Press release]

Number of mobile companies will decline says T-Mobile boss

The number of mobile phone operators will decline in the long-term, according to Hamid Akhavan, the chairman of T-Mobile International. In an interview with Die Welt he said "In Europe, we assume that only five or six big mobile phone companies will earn money in the long-term. In Asia and the US, it is a similar number." There are currently around 50 operators in Europe. [Source: Forbes.com]

Samsung sells 41% more phones in Q4 2007

In similar report to Sony Ericsson's news, Samsung sold 41% more phones in the fourth-quarter of 2007 than in 2006 but made less money. The average selling price of phones sell and operating profit was down about 1% quarter-on-quarter. [Sources: FierceWireless.com; Samsung PDF document]

Sony Ericsson selling more phones for less money

Sony Ericsson says it sold 18% more phones in the fourth quarter of 2007 than in 2006, but its net profit fell by 17% due to higher operating costs. Even so, the profit figure was higher than expected by many analysts. The company sold over 100 million handsets in 2007. [Source: Sony Ericsson press release; News.com]