TCL Communication Technology Holdings, one of the biggest consumer-electronics makers in China, posted a 59 percent surge in its third-quarter unit sales on the mainland. The mobile-handset marker also expects a double-digit growth in its mobile-phone sales volume on the mainland for the next few years.

The overall sales of TCL Communication dropped 1 percent to 3.55 million units in the third quarter, in which the overseas sales slumped 9 percent to 2.91 million units, yet the company recorded a 59 percent jump to 642,000 units in the mainland market.

The overseas sales, accounting for 81.9 percent of the overall sales, continued to be the main revenue stream for TCL Communication, Executive Director Liu Fei said yesterday.

"The less favorable economic environment in the overseas market has impacted the demand of our products and delayed the shipment confirmation, especially in the Latin American market," Liu said, adding that the mainland market was less affected by the recessionary factors than other parts of the world.

"We expect that the mainland handset market will record a double-digit growth in 2009, and also in the next few years," Liu said.

Due to the impact of the global economic slowdown, TCL Communication has revised its full-year sales volume target to 15 million units, down from 16 million units.

"Up until now, we have only achieved two-third of our overall sales target," Liu said, adding that the company will not further reduce the selling prices of its mobile handsets to boost sales.

During the third quarter, TCL Communication launched some new products on the mainland. They were mainly mid-level models with lower prices, following an aggressive price cut in the second quarter.

The third-quarter turnover for the mobile-handsets maker fell 17 percent to HK$1.12 billion, while its gross profits dropped 2 percent to HK$198 million.

Liu said the sales volume for the market in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) was around 1.4 million units in the third quarter, when a slowdown in African orders took a toll on sales to the region.

"We hope to boost revenue in the EMEA (region) after introducing our new camera phones in the fourth quarter," Liu said.

Liu also noted that the recent financial turmoil has had a significant impact on the Latin American market.

"We expect to face uncertainties in the Latin American market in 2009, but we hope to generate more profits in the fourth quarter after launching seven new mobile-phone products," Liu said.

(HK Edition 10/29/2008 page2)