Sony Mobile Q1 FY20 sales show signs of stability
Xperia may have found its bottom
Selling 800K phones in a quarter is typically nothing to write home about, but with context, the numbers are better than they appear. In the year-ago quarter, Sony managed to ship 900K Xperia phones, down by 100K to 800K in Q1 FY20.
For comparison, Sony sold 3.4 million in Q1 2017 and 2 million in Q1 2018. A drop of only 100K, by all means, is a dramatically better rate of sales lost on its own, but with a global pandemic that’s significantly decreased retail sales and consumer spending on unnecessary goods, those numbers begin to look better for Xperia.
With much of the world still dealing with COVID-19, it’s hard to predict how the next three quarters will play out, but with positive reviews for Xperia 1 II,
and a better than expected quarter, could Sony have found the bottom for Xperia? From Sony:
- Significant reductions in operating costs, including cost reductions
resulting from restructuring initiatives undertaken prior to FY2020 for Mobile Communications - Mobile Communications recorded 11.0 billion yen in operating income during the quarter and we expect it to generate a profit this fiscal year.
- The EP&S segment was the segment which was impacted by the spread of COVID- 19 earlier and more significantly than any other segment, but the supply chain has almost fully recovered and, although progress varies depending on product category and region, customer demand is beginning to recover as well.
Suppose consumer recovery continues to pick up, and positive reviews lead to increased Xperia 1 II sales, with Q3 and Q4 typically being the strongest for Sony Mobile. In that case, I could easily see a scenario where sales match or even beat FY19.
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