Sony Ericsson has released its 2009 profit statement, indicating a net loss for the year despite late efforts like the company’s popular Satio handset.

That loss amounted to $40 million in Q4 2009 though it was a big improvement over the reported Q3 2009 loss of $198 million. Most indicators point to Sony Ericsson’s restructuring efforts as a success with 14.6 million handsets shipped in Q4 and a total of 51.1 million shipped in 2009; both numbers pale in comparison to the total 96.6 million units shipped in 2008 but was expected by all industry analysts given last year’s economic upheaval in most parts of the world.

With its recent releases and latest announcements, Sony Ericsson expects to see continued growth, though small, throughout 2010.

Overall sales of mobile phones are disappointing and it is pointing toward a weaker global market in the fourth quarter than was expected by the market. On the positive side we see that the new phones are well received by the customers and (Sony Ericsson) is really selling more high-end phones, raising the average sales price quite a bit – a lot more than I had expected.

Morten Imsgard, industry analyst