"Sony Ericsson lost quite a bit of market share during the March quarter in terms of units but sold these lower units at higher prices helping this struggling venture to turn a profit," Mr. Sue said in a note.<\/p>\n
During the quarter, the company shipped 10.5 million devices, far short of Mr. Sue's forecast of 14 million and consensus 13.1 million units. However, Sony Ericsson actually returned to profitability for the first time in almost two years, earning 21-million euros.<\/p>\n
The rebound comes on the heels of a "much-needed" restructuring and new product portfolio, including some new smartphones, he said.<\/p>\n
"Despite the unit share loss in the mid-to-low end, Sony Ericsson is enjoying a promising reception for its Xperia X10 and Vivaz smartphones," Mr. Sue said. "Similar to Motorola, HTC and others Sony Ericsson is making a big bet on Android."<\/p>\n
It's enough to pull the struggling joint Japanese-Swedish venture into a tie with Motorola for fifth with about 3.8% market share, trailing Nokia, Samsung, LG and Research in Motion, he said. <\/p>\n
Mr. Sue maintains a Sector Perform rating with a price target of US$12 for LM Ericson, listed on the NASDAQ.<\/p>\n