Apple supplier Sony takes hit in December quarter on lower image sensor sales

Although PlayStation sales and cost-cutting measures helped Sony's operating profits rise 11 percent overall in the December quarter, it suffered setbacks in image sensor production, which could reflect lower orders from Apple for the iPhone.

"Demand for image sensors from certain customers has slowed since November due to a slowdown in the high-end smartphone market," said CFO Kenichiro Yoshida during a media briefing, according to Reuters. The quarter's device sales, including image sensors, fell 13 percent year-over-year, contributing to a loss of 11.7 billion yen ($96.62 million) in the segment versus last year's 53.8 billion yen ($444.3 million) profit.

The company's mobile division saw sales fall 15 percent. Although Sony's Xperia phones are generally well-reviewed, they haven't sold nearly as well as the iPhone or Samsung's Galaxy products.

Sony is believed to be the only image sensor supplier for the iPhone, meaning that any shift in iPhone production can have a significant impact on the company.

During a Tuesday results call, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that iPhone sales will probably see their first-ever decline in the March quarter. This would square up with claims that Apple was instituting a 30 percent production cut for the period. A number of other Apple suppliers have experienced setbacks as well, including Foxconn.

23 Comments

foggyhill 4767 comments · 10 Years

About 8 years ago

Good grief, really, lower orders? Apple is buying all their sensors?

The bullshit narrative is off the chart; it's relentless, Apple is not only doomed, it dooms the rest of the world too...

jmey267 57 comments · 12 Years

I think on the camera sensor front it is more like slowing P&S and DSLR camera sales do to people using mobile devices. Apple still sold almost 75 million phones in 3 months all with sony camera sensors.

michael scrip 1916 comments · 13 Years

I hope Sony can continue to supply image sensors to Apple in a timely manner. The last thing we want is a shortage of iPhones because of a supply issue.

Since cameras are such an important part of Apple products... do we think Apple would ever move everything involving cameras in-house?

It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Apple to control image sensor production from top to bottom... would it?

josu 217 comments · 8 Years

michael scrip said:

I hope Sony can continue to supply image sensors to Apple in a timely manner. The last thing we want is a shortage of iPhones because of a supply issue.

Since cameras are such an important part of Apple products... do we think Apple would ever move everything involving cameras in-house?

It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Apple to control image sensor production from top to bottom... would it?

Sony is the best in that area, the only way to do properly would be buying Sony, get the image business, the media one and sell everything else to Foxxcon.

cali 3494 comments · 10 Years

josu said:

michael scrip said:

I hope Sony can continue to supply image sensors to Apple in a timely manner. The last thing we want is a shortage of iPhones because of a supply issue.

Since cameras are such an important part of Apple products... do we think Apple would ever move everything involving cameras in-house?

It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Apple to control image sensor production from top to bottom... would it?

Sony is the best in that area, the only way to do properly would be buying Sony, get the image business, the media one and sell everything else to Foxxcon.

I think Canon is way better.