Global sales of mobile phones hit close to 305 million units in the second quarter of 2008, an 11.8 percent increase over the second quarter of 2007, according to Gartner.
Sales of mobile phones in the saturated markets of Western Europe and North America had a slight rebound after a shaky start. Western Europe reached close to 42 million units and North America exceeded 44 million units in the second quarter of 2008.
“The economic environment continued to negatively impact mobile phones sales in both mature and emerging markets,” said Carolina Milanesi, research director for mobile devices at Gartner, based in Egham, UK.
“Replacement sales remained weak, as consumers faced higher prices for fuel and food in addition to higher levels of inflation. Despite this, we remain positive that mobile phone sales in 2008 will reach 1.28 billion units.”
Nokia sold 120.4 million mobile phones in the second quarter, retaining its lead capturing 39.5 percent of the global mobile phone market. Gartner says Nokia is on track to increase its market share in the last half of 2008 due to its broad portfolio and the launch of a touch-screen device.
Samsung’s mobile phone sales reached 45.7 million units. Solid inventory management increased sales and helped the company reach a market share of 15.2 percent. “We expect Samsung’s sales to remain strong in the second half of 2008 as new products such as the Omnia pick up momentum,” said Ms Milanesi.
Motorola saw its market share dip 4.5 percent with sales reaching 30.4 million units representing 10 percent of the global market.
In North America, mobile sales totaled 44.1 million units in the second quarter, a 6.58 percent increase from the second quarter of 2007. “Despite industry concerns over the economic downturn, handset sales were strong, up 5.3 quarter-on-quarter,” said Hughes De La Vergne, principal analyst for mobile terminals research at Gartner, based in Dallas, Texas, USA
“We expect mobile handset sales to exhibit 11 per cent growth in 2008 and the growth in revenue will be slightly lower at 9 percent as increased competition and a tougher,” said Milanesi.
“Economic environment negatively impact average selling prices. In addition, mobile phone manufacturers will be put under pressure to maintain healthy margins while they intend to further break through the emerging markets to increase sales.”
