MOBILE-PHONE shipments worldwide this year will probably increase 20 percent, more than previously estimated, because of higher Nokia Oyj sales and demand in China and India, JPMorgan Chase & Co has said.
Shipments will rise to 1.2 billion units, compared with a previous estimate for 1.17 billion, Bhavin Shah, head of JPMorgan's Asia-Pacific technology research team, wrote in a report on Saturday. Next year, shipments will probably climb 15 percent, Shah said, according to Bloomberg News.
Industry leader Nokia and Asia's biggest producer, Samsung Electronics Co, reported mobile-phone earnings that beat analysts' estimates this month. China will extend its lead as the biggest market for handsets after shipments rise 30 percent this year, according to the report.
"This shows those who get customers in emerging markets win," said Robyn Hsu, who counts shares of mobile-phone chipmaker Mediatek Inc amid the US$152 million he helps manage at Truswell Securities Investment Trust Co in Taipei. "Low-cost mobile phones will continue to drive market growth as demand in mature markets like the US slows."
Espoo, Finland-based Nokia, which last week reported an 85-percent increase in profit that beat analysts' estimates, will probably sell 36.1 percent of the world's mobile phones this year, against 34.4 percent in 2006, Shah said.
Samsung, LG Electronics Inc and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd will also gain market share this year, according to the report. Motorola Inc's share of the market will tumble to 13.3 percent in 2007 from 21.5 percent last year, the only market share drop among the top five vendors, the report said.