The wireless industry continued its revival in the second quarter with worldwide shipments of mobile phones rising by 12% year on year to 114.9 million, according to new figures from Gartner Dataquest.
The research firm said that sales were encouraging in all markets with total shipments up by 2% on the first quarter (see
Record First Quarter For Mobile Providers). This follows the 6% increase recorded in 2002 (see
Worldwide Mobile Sales Up 6% In 2002) and is further evidence of the good health of the mobile phone sector.
“Strong sell-through momentum was again evident across all geographical regions, despite the unquestionably negative impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) epidemic in the Asia/Pacific region during April and May,” said Bryan Prohm, principal analyst with the mobile communications research group for Gartner in North America. “Sales in Japan, Latin America, the developing markets of Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Africa far exceeded expectations during the quarter.”
Nokia maintained its domination of the sector with shipments up by more than 6 million to 41.2 million, equivalent to almost 36% of the market. The company make significant progress in the code division multiple access (CDMA) market and made big market share gains in Asia-Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa regions.
Current trends point towards double-digit growth in global handset sales this year. ARC Group has already estimated that the mobile handset market will grow by 10.3% with consumers buying 444 million phones in 2003 (see Camera Phone Sales To Double In 2003).
“The Western European market remains driven as much by fashion as technology,” said Ben Wood, principal analyst with the mobile communications group for Gartner in Europe. “Network operators and terminals manufacturers are continuing with their relentless marketing campaigns as the competition to secure and maintain customers intensifies. Manufacturers are relying on customers to upgrade to more expensive, feature rich, color phones with cameras and games to drive increased revenue.”
“The global market is now clearly split in two mature markets,” Wood said. “There is the replacement market in regions such as Western Europe and North America that is driving sales, and emerging markets such as Africa, parts of Eastern Europe and China, where new sales are fueling customer demand.”
| Worldwide Mobile Terminal Sales Estimates |
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Q2 2002 |
Q2 2003 |
|
| Company |
Units (m) |
Market Share (%) |
Units (m) |
Market Share (%) |
Growth (%) |
| Nokia |
35.1 |
34.2 |
41.2 |
35.9 |
17.3 |
| Motorola |
17.4 |
17.0 |
16.7 |
14.6 |
-4.0 |
| Samsung |
9.8 |
9.5 |
11.3 |
9.9 |
16.1 |
| Siemens |
8.2 |
8.0 |
8.1 |
7.0 |
-2.0 |
| Sony Ericsson |
5.3 |
5.2 |
6.3 |
5.5 |
17.8 |
| LG |
3.1 |
3.0 |
4.4 |
3.8 |
41.3 |
| Others |
23.7 |
23.1 |
26.9 |
23.3 |
13.4 |
| Total |
102.7 |
100.0 |
114.9 |
100.0 |
11.9 |
| Source: Gartner Dataquest, September 2003 |
