Weak consumer demand expected to hurt Sony Ericsson's first quarter

Amid talks about Ericsson leaving the partnership, Sony Ericsson announced that their first quarter earnings report, due out on the morning of April 17th, is going to be negatively impacted by continued weak consumer demand and inventory reduction in both the retail and distribution channels. For the period, the company says they will have sold 4 million handsets at an average selling price of 120 EUR ($151 US) and with margins dropping, the partnership foresees a loss in the range of 340 -390 million EUR ($428-$491 million US). That figure does not include 10-20 million EUR in one-time restructuring charges. If Sony Ericsson does split up, they will be going out in a blaze of glory. Earlier this past week, we reported that Sony Ericsson plans on bringing the C905, equipped with an 8MP camera, to the U.S. during the second quarter.

source: Sony Ericsson