Samsung mobile phone unit profitability increases year on year, while HTC and Microsoft see massive plummets in shipments
The number of smartphone shipments reached 342.5 million in for the third quarter 2015, with a slowed year on year growth of 8.4%, a new study shows.
Apple posted another record-breaking quarter, with 48 million unit sales, compared to 39 million iPhones sold in for the third quarter 2014, said Juniper Research. Apple is increasingly turning to China for this growth, with over $12 billion in revenue coming from the Far East, and continued investment in the form of new stores and developer support.
While the appetite for Apple products is expected to remain strong in China, future expansion may be tempered somewhat by the slower economic growth expected in that market, warned Juniper.
Samsung meanwhile is beginning to turn its mobile unit around, with increased unit shipments and a 37% year on year increase in profitability. This bolsters gains made by the company’s semiconductor business, which is one of the most productive divisions for the company, noted Juniper.
Xiaomi sold an estimated 18.4 million smartphones, with the slowdown in China exacerbating the company’s troubles in the international market. This meant that Huawei was the best performing Chinese vendor of the quarter, shipping 27.4 million devices, up 63% on shipments for this period last year.
Apple is not the only smartphone vendor with its eyes on the future, claimed Juniper; despite a 32% year on year decline in shipments, Sony has announced plans to open a new smartphone factory in Thailand. This will start production in fiscal 2016, putting to rest rumours that the CEO was preparing to axe the division.
A similarly sharp sales drop from Microsoft is being blamed on an ‘updated strategy’; this is a reference to the shift away from devices onto a more platform-based business model. The 54% revenue decline is matched by a 38% year on year decline in unit sales, representing 5.8 million shipments for the third quarter.
HTC has also continued to see a decline in revenues, this time of a hefty of 49%, despite restructuring.
LG has posted its first ever third quarter year on year decline in smartphone sales along with a drop in profits from both declining sales and unfavourable exchange rates.
Continuing its run of poor results, BlackBerry sales continued to dip ahead of its Android launch, with sales estimated to have dropped below one million devices for the first time since 2005.
Finally, Asus’ smartphone presence is steadily growing, with an estimated six million units shipped this quarter.
