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TELECOM

Sony Ericsson profits collapse

Swedish-Japanese mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson reported on Friday that second quarter net profits had plunged to €8 million ($12.64mn). This represents a significant drop on the €327 million reported in the second quarter of 2007.

Published: 18 July 2008 15:05 CEST
Sony Ericsson profits collapse

The collapse in profits was expected by analysts however as Sony Ericsson had issued a profits warning to that effect in June.

Total sales amounted to €2,820 million in comparison with €3,112 million in the second quarter of 2007.

The firm announced a savings program to address plunging profitability and to cut annual costs by €300 million.

“We are aligning our operations and resources worldwide to meet an increasingly competitive business environment and to help restore our capability for profitable growth. The measures we are taking are aimed at becoming a faster, more agile and more cost efficient organisation,” Dick Komiya, Sony Ericsson President said in a company press release.

The company sold 24.4 million telephones during the quarter, in comparison with 24.9 million in the corresponding period of 2007. The average retail price dipped from €125 to €116.

Sony Ericsson forecast that the worldwide mobile phone market would grow by around 10 percent during during 2008 in unit sales terms. 1.1 billion telephones were sold worldwide in 2007.

Sony Ericsson reported a market share of around 8 percent.

ECONOMY

How to choose the right mobile phone plan in Switzerland

Arriving in Switzerland - or already living here - there are hundreds of mobile phone plans to choose from. Here’s how to get the cheapest deal.

Published: 15 July 2020 17:11 CEST
How to choose the right mobile phone plan in Switzerland
Choosing the right mobile phone contract in Switzerland can be hard. Photo: STEFAN WERMUTH / AFP

A comparison of mobile phone offers by comparison portal Dschungelkompass and Switzerland’s Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz has shown which providers offer the cheapest deals in Switzerland. 

The research shows that finding the right provider does not only depend on the company in question – but also on what kind of phone user you are. 

Infrequent users

Not glued to your phone like a teenager on TikTok? Then prepaid offers are likely to be the best for you. 

The study found that the CHF9.90 monthly deal from Mucho Mobile is the most economical deal in Switzerland, netting you a 60 minutes of call time, 10 SMS messages and 300 megabytes of data. 

READ: Our readers on the best mobile phone plans in Switzerland

Sunrise, Lidl and TalkTalk also have offers which cost between CHF10 and CHF12 a month.

The researchers however said that paying a bit more will bring users plenty in terms of value for money, particularly if taking a flat rate. 

Oliver Zadori, from Dschungelkompass, said “if you are not regularly abroad or make calls abroad, you can do without expensive subscriptions and travel better with a low flat rate, even if additional roaming charges are incurred for a stay abroad.”

Flat rate users

By spending around CHF25 to CHF30 per month, customers can get a flat rate on calls, texts and downloads from several companies – although the larger Swiss telcos seem to be a bit pricer than the smaller ones. 

Yallo and Lebara currently offer the cheapest mobile phone flat rates for CHF25 each per month. Conversely, Salt's flat rate costs CHF 39.95 – CHF40 for Sunrise and CH 55 for Swisscom.

Yallo’s flat rate has a minimum for one month and Lebara for two, meaning you don’t need to sign a long-term contract for 12 or in some cases 24 months. 

Promotional offers the way to go

The following table shows the findings of the researchers. One major recommendation is to look at which promotional offers are available as these are usually cheaper. 

Zadori said consumers should look to find the right promotional offer, although timing was a major factor in finding the best deal. 

“Promotional offers have become more important in recent years. If you subscribe to the right subscription at the right time, you can save a lot of money,” Zadori said. 

Image: Dschungelkompass

This article has been prepared as a guide only based on research completed by Switzerland’s Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz and Dschungelkompass. The Local Switzerland does not receive a commission from any of the above companies. 

 

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