Nokia Is Only Handset Maker To Maintain Its Market Share
By DAVID PRINGLE
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Nokia Corp. is the only company among the top five mobile-phone makers that didn't lose market share in last year's fourth quarter, according to figures expected to be released Thursday.
Motorola Inc. and Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson, the second- and third-largest phone makers, respectively, lost the most ground as Nokia stretched away at the top, according to U.S. research firm Dataquest.
Finland's Nokia saw its share of the global market rise to 33.9% in the fourth quarter from 31.4% in the third quarter. Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Ill., saw its market share slide to 12.7% in the fourth quarter from 14.1% in the third quarter and 16.9% a year earlier, Dataquest said.
Ericsson, based in Sweden, saw its market share for the quarter fall to 8.7% from 10.5% a year earlier. Under intense price competition from so-called second-tier players, Ericsson and Motorola are restructuring their mobile-phone operations in a bid to improve margins.
Still, there are few mobile-phone makers with the global and technological reach to overtake Ericsson and break into the top three, said Bryan Prohm, a U.S.-based analyst with Dataquest. "It is hard to pin down which of the second-tier players will come through," he said.
Germany's Siemens AG, which mounted a strong challenge through most of 2000, saw its market share slip in the fourth quarter. But Siemens is still heavily reliant on the west European market, Mr. Prohm said.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. of Japan, ranked fifth largest, has a global presence, but its market share remained flat for the year. Matsushita, together with recent market entrant Sony Corp., has the resources and expertise to become a leading player in the longer term, Dataquest said.
The mobile-phone market is expected to slow this year, and Mr. Prohm forecast some consolidation in the near future. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few high-profile exits from the marketplace at the back end of the year or in 2002," he said.
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