Sony Ericsson – reeling from five straight quarterly losses – believes it can be profitable in the next twelve months. “The goal is to be profitable next year,” Reuters reports new chief executive Bert Nordberg as stating in an interview with Swedish daily Dagens Industri. “If the market continues to stabilise and we are successful with our new products, we will [be] profitable next year,” he said, adding that new cost cuts, in addition to a programme aimed at saving EUR880 million, would be launched in 2010.

Last Friday the world’s fifth-largest handset vendor announced a net loss of EUR164 million for the July to September period, caused by a 42 percent year-on-year fall in net sales. Reports suggest the vendor will soon announce a new strategy that will see its device portfolio narrow its focus on operating systems. The troubled device manufacturer is currently shipping smartphones based on Windows Mobile and Symbian and the company has also stated it will deliver phones based on Android. However, analysts believe one of these three platforms will be dropped, with Windows Mobile the most likely victim.