Nokia and Sony Ericsson were the big winners of the global mobile phone industry in the second quarter, but overall growth slowed and inventories rose, a survey said.
Increased sales driven by colour screens and camera phones as well as demand in emerging mass market India were offset by the crisis around the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus that hampered sales in large parts of Asia, particularly China, research group Strategy Analytics said.
The summer heatwave in Europe and lower phone subsidies by mobile operators in China added to concerns that the second half of 2003 might be slower than the first, the US group said.
Sales from handset makers to distributors such as mobile operators and retail chains rose a firm 11 per cent to 111 million units, but subsequent sales to consumers lagged and rose only 6 per cent to 108 million units, it added.
Sales growth slowed from the first quarter when shipments increased 16 per cent from the year-ago period. Despite the deceleration Strategy Analytics reiterated its 2003 forecast for a 6 per cent rise in shipments of cellphones to 455 million, driven mostly by developing markets which need cheap phones.