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VIZIO steamrolls Q4, breaks all kinds of records
Who says there's no money in low-cost HDTVs? While mainstay after mainstay in the HDTV arena either folds completely, restructures their product portfolio or slashes production, VIZIO is riding high. After bucking the trend and showing growth in Q3, the company has delivered on its positive predictions for Q4. Now sitting as the second largest shipper of HDTVs in the US market, VIZIO saw sell-through increase some 52 percent during the holidays compared to the same period in 2007, and if you're looking for hard(er) numbers, try 1.2 million HDTV shipments in the fourth quarter of 2008. Laynie Newsome, VIZIO Co-Founder and VP Sales & Marketing Communications, was understandably jovial about the success, noting that "even during times when tier one competitors drop their prices (and lose millions of dollars in the process) the American consumer clearly recognizes VIZIO as a preferred consumer electronics brand." Laugh all you want, but VIZIO has a good thing going.
RIM selling gobs of BlackBerrys, profits just so-so
Just under a week ago, we found that RIM had sold its 50 millionth BlackBerry, and while that's all fine and dandy, Wall Street only cares about what you've done for it lately. Thus, traders were none too pleased to hear Research In Motion suggest that its fourth fiscal quarter earnings would come in at the low-end of expectations despite anticipating a higher-than-forecast number of new subscribers. So, what's it all mean? In simple terms, it appears that RIM's making less off of each phone sold, with Todd Coupland of CIBC Capital Markets surmising that the firm may simply be selling more of its lower-priced devices. And honestly, that makes perfect sense given the economy. Still, we can think of much, much darker places for RIM to be in than this, and these days, just coming out in the black is a victory.[Via Wall Street Journal]
DirecTV Q4 aftermath: focusing on "middle market," receiving praises from everywhere
Make no mistake -- DirecTV had an amazing, if not unbelievable, fourth quarter of 2008. After reporting numbers that blew just about everyone away yesterday, analysts have been quick to pump out laudatory remarks. Sanford Bernstein's Craig Moffett noted that the satcaster "continued to defy gravity," and he suggested that "one could make a case that DirecTV has, at least so far, been as little impacted by the recession as any company in America." As for the company itself, it's looking to target "the middle market" going forward, which is a departure from its usual tactics of aiming straight for the higher-end. The outfit's CEO Chase Carey is anticipating Q1 2009 ARPU (average revenue per user) to grow around 2.5 percent, which makes sense given the upcoming price increases. Needless to say, DirecTV is on track for a very solid '09, and if you're interested in hearing more from both sides, just hop down to the links below.[Thanks, Vanbrothers]Read - DirecTV CEORead - Analyst reactions
DirecTV records a monster Q4, adds 461,000 new net subscribers
Say what you will about the economy, but don't dare touch an American's television. Clearly bucking the trend is DirecTV, who managed to slip into rarefied air with outfits like Netflix by recording an absolutely marvelous Q4 2008. Beating analyst expectations by a solid mile, the satcaster added an amazing 461,000 new net subscribers in the quarter, with 301,000 -- the most in over three years -- coming in the US. DirecTV Latin America picked up the other 160,000, while a 1.47 percent churn rate was the lowest in nine years. In case you're scouting more good news, the company saw increased revenues in Q4 of 9 percent, while net income did slip 5 percent to $332 million. Of course, that may help explain the forthcoming price hike -- clearly it can charge more and get away with, so why not?[Thanks, Vanbrothers]
Vodafone reports 14 percent rise in revenue
Things may not be entirely awesome for most operators these days, but at least Vodafone's making some cash in this cash-strapped market. According to its most recent quarterly results, the outfit has notched a 14 percent increase in revenue, which was helped by the weak pound and exceptional sales in India. More specifically, it realized sales of £10.47 billion ($14.9 billion) compared to £9.16 billion ($13.06 billion) a year prior. Also of note, Voda was thanking data revenue profusely, as said category rose over 25 percent on an organic basis. Nevertheless, the good news prompted it to raise its expectations for the next quarter, which ain't happening too often these days. All the minutiae is parked in the read link.
NTT DoCoMo sees 16% uptick in nine-month operating profit
Given just how poorly most every other carrier company has been doing, we can't imagine the suits at NTT DoCoMo frowning about this. The Japanese wireless carrier has just outed its earnings for the nine months ending December 2008, and while the tail end was expectedly less-than-awesome, the nine month snapshot wasn't too shabby. Net income slipped 30 percent in October to December to $1.01 billion compared to $1.45 billion in the same window a year earlier, but a 16 percent increase in net profit (from $4.2 billion to $4.8 billion) was realized in the April to December '08 time frame. Moving forward, the company noted that its ongoing strategy was to "cut back on handset subsides and put the savings toward reducing tariffs had helping the company to retain customers" -- a mantra that was shared a few months earlier. For those hungry for more data points, give that read link a poke.
AT&T adds record number of U-verse TV subscribers in Q4
AT&T's overall Q4 earnings may have dipped 23.6 percent, but its U-verse unit has a few things going for it. Aside from passing the coveted one million mark in customers during the course of last quarter, the company also added a best-ever 264,000 U-verse TV customers. Moreover, the build currently reaches some 17 million living units, but we are told a bit of unfortunate news in terms of future expansion. Remember those plans to "more than double U-verse TV availability by 2010?" Yeah, that has already slipped into 2011, barely a month after the 2010 date was frantically shot out. Alright Verizon, time to get your deployment teams out of Massachusetts and make AT&T regret this, wouldn't you say?
Netflix profit up 45% in Q4, nears 10 million total subscribers
Analysts were already anticipating a killer Q4 for Netflix, and unlike practically every other company on the face of the planet, it delivered. The movie rental firm somehow managed to see net income rise to $22.7 million in the quarter, up from $15.7 million in Q4 2007. Revenue was also up by 19 percent, and subscriber growth was pegged at an amazing 26 percent. All told, the firm ended the quarter with 9.4 million subscribers, decimating its own forecast of ending Q4 with 9.15 million customers. Of course, some (Netflix included) are quick to assert that the recession has actually boosted business, with many consumers opting to stay home and rent versus taking the family out for a pricey night at the cinema. Netflix is now projecting to end 2009 with anywhere between 10.6 million to 11.3 million customers, and given all the hardware deals it keeps landing, we don't see a reason why it won't get there. Way to buck the trend, Netflix -- we needed some bright news today.[Via AP]
Carphone Warehouse sees retail sales rise 13%
Who says everyone has to report bum quarters these days? The Carphone Warehouse -- which is only Europe's largest, most recognizable independent mobile phone retailer -- has just reported that retail sales during its most recent quarter were up 13 percent to just over £1 billion ($1.48 billion). Moreover, its connections were up 3% to 3.7 million and subscription connections rose 3% to 1.3 million, though revenues of its TalkTalk Group were down slightly (2%) to £347 million ($514 million). Still, bigwigs at the firm aren't ignorant to the market, noting that "weaker trading conditions" are likely to continue, and thus, affect future numbers. Still, we'd say these guys deserve a round of golf claps for just breaking into '09 in the black.[Via mocoNews]
Sony Ericsson posts $247 million Q4 loss, isn't looking forward to Q1 2009
Sony Ericsson's had a rough couple of months (along with just about everybody else), and things certainly aren't looking any more stellar in Q4. The outfit has just posted a fourth-quarter drop in net income of €187 million, or just south of $248 million. That figure becomes all the more striking when you consider that it showed profits of €373 million in the same period last year. As expected, the company blamed the "global economic slowdown" for the contracting demand, though it did say that the previously announced €300 million cost savings initiative was still on track. President Dick Komiyama noted that he still sees "continued deterioration in the market place in 2009, particularly in the first half," giving us all reason to believe that similar sadness will be emitted from its Q1 / Q2 2009 reports. Still, we'd argue that things could turn around quick, fast and in a hurry if it figures out a way to get Android onto a shipping handset. We all know SE's got the design angle down -- toss a decent OS on there and you've got a winner.[Via mocoNews]
Nokia and Motorola dominate China's smartphone market
Really, it's not even fair. A recent look at Q3 2008 smartphone sales in China has found that together, Nokia and Motorola encompass around 90% of all handsets sold in the nation (real ones, we presume). The CCID Consulting report also points out that Nokia's share alone is a dominating 69.3%, with its wide range of choices spanning from low-end to ultra-luxurious helping it to hook consumers from all walks of life. Picking up the silver is Moto with a respectable 19.9%, while Dopod snags the bronze with just 4.7%. Overall, handset sales in China were practically flat from Q2, which -- in today's world -- isn't particularly awful. For the number lovers out there (you know who you are), check the read link for even more statistics.[Via mocoNews, image courtesy of SymbianWebBlog]
The Man can't hold HTC down as it sees highest revenues ever
For the vast majority of mobile makers, the past few months have been ones they'd love to forget. For HTC, it could actually throw a party in remembrance. The outfit responsible for the Touch Pro / Diamond, Touch HD and T-Mobile G1 (among others) has reportedly witnessed its revenues skyrocket to a record high of around $528.6 million in November, which is up nearly 11% sequentially and 22.1% on the year. Oh HTC, just think how much higher that figure would be if you'd loose the Touch HD on US soil...[Via WMPowerUser, image courtesy of CNET]
Palm's preliminary quarter-end results show drooping revenues, bleak outlook
Remember when we used to write about Palm in order to talk about its devices and / or operating system(s)? Man, those were the days. Now, it just seems like one sadness-filled report after another, and just days after hearing that it would be cutting an undisclosed amount of employees in order to trim operating expenses, in comes even more doom and gloom courtesy of its preliminary Q2 (fiscal year 2009) results. The company is expecting to record revenues ranging between $190 million to $195 million, far short of the $331 million Wall Street had been counting on. The shortfall was blamed on "a difficult economic environment [which had] greatly intensified the negative impact on product sales." Of course, the visionary Ed Colligan (CEO) still maintains that by reducing its cost structure it can "launch next-generation products as planned," but seriously, why should we believe that line now? Time to put up or shut up, Palm.[Via CNET, image courtesy of PalmFocus]
Samsung warns that the handset market ain't what it used to be
Echoing sentiments 'round the globe is Samsung, who evidently understands that Q4 and beyond will be much tougher for handset makers than in quarters past. According to spokesman James Chung, "the actual global market growth on a unit basis could come short of [Samsung's] initial forecast for 9% growth (in 2008)," and "as for next year, it is possible that the market could post a single-digit or even negative growth." Of course, it's not like any other cellphone maker has it too much easier, but for folks wondering if Sammy had some kind of magical elixir for generating positive numbers, we hate to say it doesn't.[Via RCRWireless]
Funai sees operating income jump on sales of BD decks, DTV converter boxes
So, apparently sales of Blu-ray players and DTV converter boxes are on the up and up now that the format war is over and the DTV transition is quickly approaching in the USA -- who would've thunk it? According to reports, Funai's latest quarter saw an operating income increase of 108.8%, and it didn't hesitate to thank sales of Blu-ray players and DTV converters for such a surge. The outfit also proclaimed that sales of CRT TVs and DVD decks were down, and even though the boost from converter boxes will be short lived, it's hoping a deeper adoption of BD and sales of Philips-branded LCD TVs will compensate in 2009. Godspeed, we say.[Via VideoBusiness]
DTS posts profitable quarter, expects bright future thanks to Blu-ray
There aren't too many firms out there posting awesome Q3 reports, but DTS is one of the rare exceptions. Recently, the firm reported a net income of $2 million on revenues of $14 million, though $1.6 million of those revenues were in the form of royalties. CEO Jon Kirchner was quoted as saying that "overall, we remain cautious about the near-term industry outlook, but we continue to believe in the attractive long-term prospects for the Blu-ray format and for our business." Guess that's assuming Blu-ray adoption picks up in Q4 and beyond, huh?
Virgin Mobile USA posts 8% subscriber growth, $4.1 million net profit in Q3
Hey, who says everyone loses during tough times? After Virgin Mobile USA crawled through a miserable Q2, things are looking up for the recent acquirer of Helio. The outfit reported 821,491 gross additions to its subscriber list, which marks a respectable 8% year-over-year increase. Furthermore, the company somehow managed to amass a Q3 net profit of $4.1 million, which contrasts starkly with the $7.4 million loss that it posted a year ago. The only down news of the day was that its average revenue per user in the third quarter fell 2% from a year earlier to $20.19, but given that its Q4 forecast shows it notching a revenue increase from 6% to 9%, we suppose it's all good in the neighborhood.[Via RCRWireless]
Deutsche Telekom shakes economic woes, reports "good" Q3
We can't recall the last time a mega-corp informed the public that it had a "good" quarter (as in, it literally described the quarter as "good" in its headline), but we can't help but chuckle at this one. Deutsche Telekom has done what few other companies have managed to do of late, and that's post an impressive Q3. Even in a "difficult market environment," net income was up €0.6 billion ($775 million) to €0.9 billion ($1.16 billion) compared to a year ago, and it managed to snag 670,000 new T-Mobile USA customers all the while. As with most other carriers these days, DT also found lots of income flowing in from data usage; total data revenue (excluding messaging) was up 28.3% to a whopping €639 million ($825 million). For number crunchers and optimists alike, tap the read link for more material you're sure to love.[Via mocoNews]
DirecTV gives recession the cold shoulder, sees increased profits in Q3
While many mega-corps are struggling just to make ends meet, DirecTV is basking in the glow of a rather awesome Q3. The satcaster proudly announced that it saw revenues increase by 15% to $4.98 billion, all while operating profit scooted up 16% to $658 million and net income shot up 14% to $363 million. As has been the trend of late, a fair chunk of its good fortunes came from subscribers opting for "premium" services, which is a fancy way of saying that customers are totally digging HDTV, HD DVRs and video-on-demand. Oh, and now that HD is live in Latin America, we actually wouldn't be surprised to see a fruitful Q4 just a few months from now. Recession? What recession?[Image courtesy of DayLife]
Sprint posts Q3 net loss of $326 million, sees 1.3 million subs leave
Sprint's year just keeps getting worse. After losing over 900,000 customers last quarter while posting a $344 million loss, the company insistent on advertising with faux soap operas and in black and white (and yellow) is hanging its head once more. During Q3, the carrier saw 1.3 million net subscribers head for the exits, and it also reported a loss of $326 million. According to CEO Dan Hesse, Sprint "has yet to turn the corner," warning that the process of turning things around would be gradual. Moving forward, the company expects gross additions to "stabilize," while the turnover rate is apt to remain at around 2.15%. In related news, the provider's stock price has sunk around 60% in the past six months, and while that's surely bad news to shareholders, not many other mega-corps out there are doing tremendously better.[Via The New York Times]
