The global mobile phone market will shrink 9 percent this year according to Strategy Analytics, with the first half of the year expected to be very weak. In a statement, the analyst company said that forecast shipments of 1.08 billion handsets this year will make 2009 “the weakest year since the modern cellphone industry began in 1983.” Such comments are closely aligned with Nokia’s outlook reported yesterday; the world’s largest handset vendor said it expects the global mobile device market to decline approximately 10 percent this year. The economic slowdown also led to the industry’s weakest showing in a fourth quarter since 2001, Strategy Analytics reported. Shipments in fourth-quarter 2008 slumped 10 percent year-on-year to 295 million units. It was the first time the company had seen shipments in the traditionally buoyant quarter lower than the third quarter. In addition, Strategy Analytics said that three of the top five handset vendors – Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola – grew at negative rates in the last quarter. Samsung performed best, it said, grabbing an 18 percent global share.

Samsung Electronics meanwhile today reported its first net loss (KRW22.2 billion/US$16.2 million) since it began reporting quarterly results in 2000. The company’s mobile phone business did, however, report an operating profit of KRW160 billion in the final quarter of 2008, although this was a huge 72 percent decline from a year earlier. The South Korean vendor said it shipped about 53 million units in the most recent quarter and reached its target of 200 million units for full-year 2008. For 2009, the company expects shipments to be in excess of 200 million units. Samsung said it expects the global handset market to contract by 5-10 percent this year.