Global phone sales decline again, Apple garners max profits

Global handset market sales declined for a second consecutive quarter this year, falling 2 per cent (year-on-year) and 15 per cent (on-quarter) to $95.8 billion in the June quarter, while handset revenues as well as profits were largely driven by Apple.

According to Counterpoint Research, a fall in global handset shipments due to factors including Chinese lockdowns and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty caused the revenues to decline despite the average selling price (ASP) going up by 6 per cent in the same period.

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Apple was at the top, with the iPhone garnering 80 per cent of all the profit in the industry.

"With global brands such as Samsung and Apple leading overall ASP growth and even some Chinese brands working towards a shift to higher ASP devices in the past year, overall operating profit saw annual growth in the second quarter of the year," said senior analyst Harmeet Singh Walia.

However, compared with the previous quarter, operating profits declined 29 per cent after declining 26 per cent QoQ in Q1 2021, Walia added.

Apple's revenues grew 3 per cent year-over-year despite, shipping 46.5 million iPhones in the quarter.

"Revenue growth in the second half of the year, when compared to the first half, is a near certainty due to the cyclical launch of the highly profitable and relatively economic downturn-resistant iPhone," said associate director Jan Stryjak.

However, with geopolitical uncertainty worsening, inflation levels rising and fears of recession growing, "the handset market is bound to get impacted and may take longer to return to the trajectory predicted prior to the pandemic," he noted.