Global mobile mkt grows anew: iSuppli

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Global handset shipments grew nearly 5 per cent in the second quarter, the first quarter-on-quarter growth in 9 months, marking a reversal of course for the struggling market, researchers at iSuppli said on Friday.

Worldwide shipments of cellphones rose 4.7 per cent to 265 million units in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, helped by strength in the Middle East and Latin America, but were still down 15.1 per cent compared with a year ago, according to preliminary data from iSuppli.

"The market is approaching the bottom," iSuppli analyst Tina Teng said. "In the handset market we are seeing more orders coming in and the top 5 OEMs are projecting positive growth."

Inventory levels have decreased and factories are seeing higher utilization rates, she added.

Shipments for 2009 are still expected to shrink 9.9 per cent year-on-year to 1.1 billion units -- their first annual decline in eight years.

But iSuppli forecast an improving second half, with quarter-on-quarter increases in shipments of 6 per cent in the third quarter and 8.3 per cent in the fourth quarter.

The top players

Nokia Oyj maintained its top-ranked position, but shipments totaling 103.2 million units slid 15.4 per cent from a year ago, due to increased smartphone competition from Samsung, Research in Motion Ltd and Apple Inc.

The strongest year-on-year performance came from second- ranked Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which recently updated its product line and saw a 14.4 per cent increase in shipments to 52.3 million units.

"There are two areas that are growing right now, smart phones and ultra low-cost handsets for emerging markets," Teng said.

Third-ranked LG Electronics Inc, which saw growth in the Middle East and Africa and success in the touchscreen market, saw shipments increase 7.6 per cent to 29.8 million units. The South Korean handset maker moved up one spot in the ranking.

Motorola Inc and Sony Ericsson - ranked four and five, respectively - struggled in the second quarter.

Motorola saw second quarter shipments fall by nearly half to 14.8 million units.

Sony Ericsson, which has yet to gain traction with low-cost handsets, saw shipments decline 43.4 per cent to 13.8 million units.