| | By John Daly in Germany @ Wednesday, March 18, 2009 4:52 PM
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| | Swedish maker of telecommunications equipment Ericsson wants to get rid of its stake in troubled mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson. Informed sources told German business magazine Manager Magazin that negotiations are underway and partner Sony has expressed interest in taking over the joint venture completely. Sony however does not currently have enough cash to buy out Ericsson and is thus talking with banks in order to finance the deal through loans. Ericsson was not prepared to comment on the situation.
Sony Ericsson didn't perform well at all in 2008. The mobile phone maker incurred a net loss of €187 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, in contrast to a net profit of €373 million a year before. Net loss for the full year summed up to €73 million. The average selling price for a Sony Ericsson phone fell from €125 in 2007 to €116 in 2008. The company announced it would restructure and shed 2000 jobs back in July 2008, in order to save €300 million annually. Unit shipments fell 7% year over year, dropping from 103.4 million units in 2007 to 96.6 million in 2008.
Ericsson's profit suffered from its loss-making joint venture. Ericsson had to shave €67 million from its profit for full year 2008, bringing the profit down to , err, zero. X
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