Sony expects its mobile division, Mobile Communications (MC), responsible for Xperia smartphones, to return to profitability, and will end this fiscal year (Sony's new fiscal year starts in April) with a positive financial result. Phone Arena drew attention to the corresponding forecast, which the company announced in its recent quarterly report.
It's no secret that Sony's mobile division has been unprofitable for four years now, and sales of Xperia smartphones have been declining for 26 consecutive quarters. However, over the past couple of years, Sony has taken several steps to reduce the negative impact of its mobile business. And it looks like these actions have been effective.
The forecast is not precise, so it is unclear exactly how much profit from the mobile division Sony is counting on. We will have to wait for the publication of the report for the entire 2020 financial year (it will end for the Japanese on March 31, 2021). It is safe to say that the profit margin will be small - sales of Xperia smartphones are still not impressive, and the company's share in the global smartphone market is less than 1%. On the other hand, from April to June, Sony managed to sell 0.8 million smartphones, which is twice the result of the previous quarter and only 11% less than a year ago.
Now the smartphone industry is gradually shifting towards the middle and budget segments. Sony is convinced that soon the boomingΒ mid-budget models will end and flagship models will be back in fashion. Nevertheless, in 2020-2021, Sony plans to focus on more affordable smartphones.
Not so long ago, there was information that next year Sony intends to return to the old strategy in the smartphone market with the release of three flagships: the base, the Premium version, and the Compact version.