Sony Ericsson's first-quarter net profit more than tripled, thanks largely to the continued popularity of its Walkman-branded music phones and delivery of new advanced phones in Japan, a Dow Jones report said.
The report said Sony Ericsson increased its forecast for the overall market in 2006 to 900 million units from the 860 million seen earlier.
The world's fifth-largest handset maker by units shipped said net profit jumped to 109 million euros in the three months to March 31 from 32 million euros a year earlier, according to the report.
The report also said the company's pretax profit more than doubled to 151 million euros, while sales rose 55% to 1.99 billion euros.
The launch of Walkman phones in August 2005 helped Sony Ericsson tap the rising popularity of music-enabled devices, the report said.
Recently, the company also moved to gain a greater share of fast growing markets by introducing cheaper handsets in emerging markets, the report further said.
Sony Ericsson said it sold 2.5 million Walkman-branded phones in the first quarter, the report added.