Sony was one of the best smartphone makers in the old days, I still remember using the Xperia Z2, and it was one of my favorite phones of all time. However, over the past couple of years, the smartphone division has maintained a stable momentum and a good profit. Still, it now seems that its current strategy is bearing fruit as we see signs of recovery.
Sony is Finally Showing Signs of Recovery with Another Profitable Year of Smartphones
According to the company's latest earnings report, the mobile communications segment enjoyed better and higher revenue figures in 2021 as opposed to in 2021. Sony's mobile division managed to rack up 99.1 billion Japanese yen (~$871.6 million) in fiscal Q2 2021 versus the 79.1 billion Japanese yen ($695.7 million) from last year. Sony has also confirmed that this revenue was a result of an "increase in unit sales."
The more surprising part is that this increase in sales comes while the world is going through a semiconductor shortage, which has already led to some companies cutting their shipping numbers.
If you are wondering how these numbers compare against the previous quarters, then in Q1 2021, the mobile division saw a 12.8 billion Japanese yen loss compared to Q1 2020. It came even worse in Q2 2019 than Q2 2018, with a 37.1 billion Japanese yen retraction registered over this period. Notably, 2020 was the first year since 2017 in which Sony earned a profit, and 2021 seems to be a continuation. Mobile communications saw a 7.1 billion Japanese yen increase in fiscal H1 2021 compared to a year before.
While this is still too early to talk about the fact that Sony has made a complete recovery, it does look like that there is hope for Sony's smartphone division. However, it is still going to take some time for the company to stand next to the likes of Apple and Samsung, and the company might have to stomach the reality that this is not going to happen by releasing $1,800 smartphones.
Do you think Sony will return to the mainstream again? Let us know your thoughts.
