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NTT DoCoMo posts 41% profit increase on reduced handset subsidies
Go 'head with your bad self, NTT DoCoMo. Party on down 'til six in the morning, because you just posted a quarterly profit increase of 41%. What's to thank for such a remarkable boost? According to a Bloomberg report, the outfit's decision to "reduce handset subsidies to customers" enabled it to bring in more cash despite the fact that sales fell 1.1% in the same quarter. President Ryuji Yamada proclaimed that the "acceptance of the monthly handset payment plan by our users helped bolster profits in the quarter," and he also highlighted a "considerable decline in the cancellation ratio." Still, some analysts are uncertain if the telecom company can maintain the growth, with Deutsche Bank AG's Kenji Nishimura stating that the "increase in profit was merely caused by the change in the accounting." Snap DoCoMo, are you just going to take that?[Via mocoNews, image courtesy of Flickr]
DisplaySearch Q2 plasma results shows big growth, Matsushita on top
Oh, how quickly the mighty have fallen (again). Shortly after Matsushita dropped to third in plasma shipments in Q1, the outfit has leapfrogged both LG and Samsung SDI in order to claim the gold in Q2 2008. The outfit's revenue share skyrocketed from 29.4% to 36.8%, showing a 23% year-over-year improvement. Also of note, 1080p PDPs saw remarkable growth (54% year-over-year) this quarter, which were reportedly driven by sales of 46-inch models. Looking at Matsushita in particular, over 43% of its plasma shipments in Q2 were 1080p, and overall it "accounted for over 70% of all 1080p PDP shipments." Anyone taking bets on who comes out on top in Q3?
Palm's 10-K filing reveals smaller acquisitions, reads like a mystery novel
So Palm, what exactly have you been up to lately? Besides pumping out that tired, ho hum 800w, of course. The snoopers over at monoNews went and dug through your latest 10-K filing, and it seems as if that noteworthy Elevation Partners deal wasn't the only agreement you were wrapped up in during the past little while. As a matter of fact, we're seeing that during February of 2007, you "acquired the assets of two sole proprietorships [at a cost of $19.2 million] focused on mobile computing and media devices, one a developer of user interface environments and the other a developer of email software applications." Oh, and in October of last year, you "acquired substantially all of the assets [for $500,000] of a corporation focused on developing solutions to enhance the performance of web applications." Curiously, you nonchalantly failed to mention any names, but it's pretty clear that those new pick-ups weren't utilized in the last 16 months or so. [Via mocoNews, image courtesy of DayLife]
Samsung SDI expected to post first profit in two years
Samsung SDI has definitely been on the offensive of late, producing the world's first WVGA OLED panels for handhelds, a 3D AMOLED display and plans to crank out medium to large OLED TVs in just a year or so. Its efforts are paying off, as the firm is expected to post its first profit since dipping into (and remaining in) the red back in Q1 2005. According to Kim Dong-won, an analyst at Hyundai Securities, the outfit is forecasting a ???3.1 billion ($3.05 million) profit for Q2 2008 -- quite a bit better than the ???31 billion ($30.5 million) in losses analysts were expecting. Here's a hint for staying in the black: get a few big screen OLED HDTVs out before everyone else. Simple, right?
AT&T finally breaks the half million mark with U-verse customers
AT&T's U-verse still isn't a clear cut winner in the world of HD carriers, but it sure got a lot more attractive with the recent rollout of 2 HD / 2SD -- which enabled users to record one high-def program while watching another (or record two HD shows simultaneously). During Q2 2008, the company managed to pick up 170,000 new U-verse subscribers (versus 148,000 in Q1 2008), and since it closed 2007 with 231,000, it has more than doubled its customer base (549,000) in half a year. At its current rate, it'll be tight to make its goal of one million subscribers by the end of 2008, but it might just get there. Can't say our faith was nearly as high just six months prior.[Via HD-Report]
Sony Ericsson sees net profits fall 97%, looks to cut 2,000 jobs
Sony Ericsson warned the world just over a fortnight ago that things wouldn't be too rosy when it came time to announce Q2 results, and rosy things are not. Even though the handset maker was hoping and praying to break even at the end of the quarter, net profits ended up falling through the floor to the tune of 97%. As predicted, weak sales of mid-to-high-end mobiles were blamed for the bulk of the bad news, and it did affirm that conditions would remain rough for the rest of the year. Granted, the looming launch of the Xperia X1 should help matters a bit, but without a new stable of low-end cellies to send to emerging markets, it'll be a long road back to the top. Unfortunately, SE's sagging position in the market has left it slashing 2,000 jobs across the globe, though it didn't say exactly where the cuts would be made. It's okay SE, there's only one place to go when you're laying on the bottom... or something like that.[Image courtesy of Flickr]Read - Sony Ericsson's Q2 earningsRead - Sony Ericsson plans job cuts
Home video spending still strong, $194 million spent on Blu-ray in 2008
Slumping economy? Recession? Poppycock. Based on sales of home media, America's financial engine is humming along just fine, with consumers plunking down 1.6% more on DVD / Blu-ray purchases and rentals combined than they did in the first half of 2007. Granted, some may suggest that home entertainment is seeing an increase as more lavish alternatives (going out for a movie, taking a vacation, etc.) are utilized less frequently, but whatever the case, this sector is sure benefiting. Focusing on HDM, we're hearing that $194 million has been spent on Blu-ray Disc thus far in 2008, which is up some 350% from $43 million in 1H 2007. Amazing what a format war conclusion will do for numbers, huh?[Image courtesy of Syracuse, thanks Joel]
LG Display to post huge Q2 profits, LCD sales expected to slump in coming quarters
While we just heard last month that flat-panel sales would be spearheading 2008 consumer electronics growth, a new outlook has those very sales looking bleak for the remainder of the year. The news come amidst the expectation of LG Display to post profits for Q2 that "more than [triple] thanks to strong demand for TVs and tight supplies of PC panels." According to James Kim, an analyst at Lehman Brothers, "earnings have peaked in the second quarter," and while he asserts that "demand to replace TVs with flat-screen models is still there, fewer consumers are buying large-size TVs because of the weak economy." Still, sales of smaller sets are expected to steadily climb in emerging markets as the Beijing Olympics draw near, but it remains to be seen how large an impact those markets will have.[Via WidescreenReview]
Megapublisher Shandra sees 66% profit increase
Shandra Interactive Entertainment, the Chinese operator of MapleStory, Dungeons & Dragons Online, The Legend of Mir, and the positively ginormous Ragnarok Online let the world know that its profits for Q3 2007 are up 66% vs. last year and that it is expecting further growth in coming months.Shandra is the biggest publisher of online games in the Chinese market, and recently reached an agreement with NCsoft by which NCsoft will distribute its new title AION in China through Shandra instead of its old partner in the region, Sina (in which Shandra ironically holds a 20% stake).
Apple turns the most customer service frowns upside down
I couldn't resist the headline, but can you blame me? This tech stuff can be a doozie on consumers, but it seems that Apple just received the highest rankings in a customer support satisfaction survey released by the ACSI (American Customer Satisfaction Index). This 2006 second quarter report found Apple's industry-leading satisfaction rating on the rise to 83%, up 2.5% from last year (funny: in my student adventures, an 83% leading the class is typically considered a bad thing). The industry overall saw a slow increase in satisfaction, with Dell leaping over 5% to their 78% mark, and even HP and (surprisingly) Gateway seeing mild improvements.Check out the full list of results - which includes plenty of other industries like automotive and even search engines - for more details of which companies are putting smiles on their customer's faces.
Nasdaq warns Apple of non-compliance
Following reports of possible stock option improprieties by Apple executives and continuing internal and external investigations of these concerns, Apple has announced that it will delay the filing of its Q3 quarterly earnings reports until it is satisfied that the issues have been properly accounted for and addressed. Delay of the filing puts Apple out of compliance with Nasdaq regulations, and continued non-compliance without taking proper measures are grounds for Nasdaq to cease listing of Apple shares. Apple has said it's stock will remain listed pending a hearing and decision by the Nasdaq listing qualifications board. Despite these issues, perhaps because Apple itself–and not a third party, uncovered the irregularities, Apple stock has remained fairly stable.
PSP shipments down, but software gaining momentum
While we were so hyped up about the new 2.80 firmware, some of the smaller news stories fell through the cracks. For example, Sony revealed their quarterly results, and revealed that yes, they finally made money. But, that money certainly didn't come from the games division. Rather, sales of digital cameras, cell phones, and the theatrical release of The DaVinci Code seemed to pour the cash into Sony's pockets. The games division has seen a 29.1 percent drop in sales and operating revenue for this quarter, and the operating losses have increased this quarter to $232.2 million.Sales for PlayStation 2's notably aged hardware and software predictably went down. Unfortunately, it appears that demand for PSP hardware has dropped worldwide, resulting in approximately 3% less shipments this quarter (note that shipments and sales are two different figures). However, shipments for software have nearly doubled, reaching 9.1 million (an increase of 4.2 million).While hardware may have seen a small dip, that software figure shows a still-impressive run for the PSP. It appears that the games division will be making most of its money from the PSP for now, as analysts predict that PS3 manufacturing costs will cost the company $2 billion within a year.[Via Gamasutra]
360 BC update "in the next few weeks"
Thanks to the folks at the Gamerscore Blog, we've learned that the next Xbox back compat update "should be out in the next few weeks." In his earlier blast against BC, Peter Moore proclaimed that nobody is concerned about it anymore, but thankfully the gentler Gamerscore peeps have set the record straight, stating: "We know for a fact that there are lots of people who continue to care about backwards compatibility, including the 'Emulation Ninjas' who are working full time on the updates. And those of us posting on this blog. And, of course, many of you." We suppose quarterly updates to the BC list aren't TOO bad (hey, they sure beat semiannual dashboard updates), but getting more than a dozen titles to work each time would definitely help a lot more for those with original Xbox favorites they'd prefer to play on their new machines. Personally, this blogger would like to see the following titles added to the list: Dead or Alive Ultimate, Doom 3, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Project Gotham Racing 2, LEGO Star Wars, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Soul Calibur II, and Capcom Classics Collection. It may not be realistic to expect Street Fighter support when Hyper Fighting is set to hit Live Arcade sometime in the near future, but one can (vainly) hope. [Via Major Nelson's blog] See also: Xbox BC not a priority, says Moore No Black on 360 till MS makes it so... or a sequel comes out US 360 backward-compatibility list shrinks A video tour of the Xbox Live Spring update SFII on Xbox Live: what's taking so long?
High definition affects Sony, Comcast quarterly reports
It's that time of year, as companies report their results for the first quarter, already we've seen two benefit from high definition. Comcast reported growth as a result of adding customers in phone video and high speed internet, as well as adding DVR's and high definition for existing digital cable customers.Sony beat expectations due to investments and gained marketshare in the flat screen TV market, but still had a loss over the quarter.As the market of HDTV owners and interested buyers continues to grow, it will be interesting to see how it affects the various device and content providers' businesses. We'll probably keep an eye on the Time Warner blog to see if they have any updates.[Note: I am a Comcast employee and stockholder. I don't own stock in Sony, but I did love my Betamax player in what some would consider an inappropriate fashion.][Oh yeah, and Time Warner owns AOL, who owns this blog, I think I'm disclaimered up now, but you never know, so watch for updates.]
