By Allen Tsai | Thu Oct 30, 2008 3:47 am |
Mobile phone makers fear further weakening demand after global shipments of cell phones slipped in the third quarter due to the troubled economic situation.
Manufacturers shipped 299 million phones in the July-September period, down 0.4 percent from the second quarter, according figures IDC research reports. The third quarter normally sees a ramp-up in shipments as stores stock up ahead of the holiday season.Sales in key European markets continued to fall in recent weeks, fears over weak Christmas sales and further waning demand next year have continued to grow. Some analysts forecast the mobile phone market to be hit harder next year especially in developed markets. Top phone maker Nokia forecast earlier this month 13.5 percent market growth in the fourth quarter, slightly weaker than in recent years, but reassuring for investors. The annual growth of LG Electronics slowed from 54 percent in the first quarter and 45 percent in the second to just 5 percent in the third. Motorola and Sony Ericsson have struggled with internal problems and reported quarterly sales at best on last year's level. The only vendor among top five which was able to keep up the growth rate of the previous quarter was Samsung, but it had to aggressively cut prices during the quarter to reach that, hurting its profit margin.
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