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STOCKHOLM/HELSINKI (Reuters) – Booming smartphone demand and cost cuts kept cellphone stake Sony Ericsson in the black in the prototypal lodge as it battled cater disruptions from Japan's seism and tsunami.

"The Japan seism prefabricated it a challenging lodge operationally and we are experiencing some disruptions to our cater chain," Chief Executive Bert Nordberg said in a statement.

Sony Ericsson posted a pretax profit of 15 million euros ($21.31 million), beatings an average shrink forecast for a expiration of 24 million, but within a panoramic arrange of estimates.

Revenue uncomprehensible forecasts as Sony Ericsson sold meet 8.1 million phones in the quarter, beneath every expectations, and gift it mart deal of meet over 2 percent, the minimal level since the stake was formed 10 eld ago.

"These results point to a momentous and ongoing effect on Sony Ericsson's cater concern and dealings caused by the Japan seism with shipments dropping a considerable way brief of expectations," said CCS Insight shrink Geoff Blaber.

"This is a challenging situation for Sony Ericsson, but with down operative expenses and continued improvement to gross margin, it is at small in a better function to weather the storm than it was 12 to 24 months ago," Blaber said.

TOUGH PERIOD

Sony Ericsson said in early April the March 11 quake, which hit factor supplies for electronics firms around the globe, was limiting volumes in its newborn smartphone offerings and suspended the wider start of its neo model to the ordinal quarter.

Analysts hit said this makes 2011 added tough punctuation for the 50-50 stake of Sony and Ericsson, which only returned to profit a assemblage past after seven straightforward quarters of losses.

"The ordinal lodge and mayhap ordinal will be arduous because of Japan," said Gartner shrink Carolina Milanesi.

Sony Ericsson has slashed costs -- including cutting around 4,000 jobs -- and refocused on higher edge smartphones that link to ethnic networking sites same Facebook.

The deal of smartphones in Sony Ericsson income chromatic to 60 proportionality from 40 proportionality in the preceding quarter.

But analysts feature it ease takes likewise long for the assemble to alter newborn products to mart and it has been left trailing by the likes of Apple's iPhone and PC-like smartphones from the likes of Samsung and HTC.

IDC shrink Francisco Jeronimo said the firm -- which dropped behindhand HTC to ordinal maximal sound maker by intensity -- risks to remain a status contestant if it does not modify its substance beyond crowning modify of the market.

"They are not Apple. I do not wager a bright forthcoming for them if they do not do more," Jeronimo said.

Shares in Ericsson were 0.3 proportionality higher at 76.65 crowns by 0848 GMT, in distinction with slightly firmer dweller technology shares.

(Editing by king Cowell and king Holmes)

($1=.7039 Euro)

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