Handset vendor Sony Ericsson has swung to a small profit for the second quarter as it managed to raise average selling prices (ASPs) from a smaller devices portfolio. Net income was EUR12 million, reversing a loss of EUR213 million a year ago, while revenues came in at EUR1,757 million, a 4 percent increase year-on-year. The vendor shipped 11 million units in the quarter, down 20 percent year-on-year due to the reduction in size of the product portfolio. But ASPs increased 31 percent year-on-year to EUR160, which the firm said was due to “improved product and geographical mix,” as well as positive currency effects. Sony Ericsson estimated that its market share in the quarter remained flat at around 4 percent, and maintained its forecast of “slight growth” in 2010. “Our second quarter results show that the company continued the momentum seen in the first quarter as a result of our focus on the value market and the success of new smartphones [such as the Android-based] Xperia X10 ,” said Sony Ericsson president, Bert Nordberg. He later told Dow Jones Newswires that the vendor will maintain the Android platform as a key operating system for its smartphones and will likely stop using either the Windows Mobile or Symbian platform in its products.

In a statement, Sony Ericsson said that its cost reduction programme, which started in mid-2008, is now in its final stages and on target to reduce annual operating expenses by EUR880 million by the end of the year.  Since the start of the programme, Sony Ericsson has reduced its global workforce by approximately 4,000 people to reach a total workforce of approximately 7,800 by the end of the quarter. The total restructuring charges taken to date for the programme are EUR374 million.