14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung is running up the profit ladder, gaining an even greater advantage from Motorola, according to the third quarter results. The two companies exchanged places earlier this year, as the second third world handset producers and the difference between them is increasing at a great speed.
Motorola is the only manufacturer from the top five ones to have registered profit drops. That's an even more disturbing information, as the producer went down 30 percent, compared to last year's same period. The company did register a slight profit growth, when compared to the second quarter, but a bleak one, mostly on account of music-optimized Motorola U9, two new Z6 devices and nearly a million RAZR 2 devices. It looks like what's holding Motorola in competition is still the RARZ line of phones, revealing a gloomy future for when its popularity will wear out.
Sony Ericsson still represents no major threat, from its fourth place that it manages to hold on to. This company has seen the great potential of lower end phones and the advantages that this type of devices is capable of bringing. Sony Ericsson's growth slowed to 30 percent from roughly 60 percent in the prior three quarters, but Samsung grew notably faster during the third quarter. It reached double-digit operating profit margin by shipping more high-end devices, including its popular Ultra Edition handsets.
Nokia holds on tight to its leading handset producer spot, as it reached its second consecutive quarter of mere than 100 million units. Moreover, it shipped more units than the next three vendors combined. Its performance is mostly based on the scalability, lowered cost structures, distribution and brand recognition. Moreover, lower end devices made up most of its lineup, although the more evolved ones also drove some high revenues and profits.