Sony Ericsson makes surprise first-quarter profit

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson posted a surprise first-quarter pretax profit on Friday, but stuck with its forecast of slight growth in the global handset market this year.                                           

The world number four handset maker, owned by Sweden's Ericsson and Japan's Sony Corp., reported a pretax profit of €18 million ($25.16 million) for the period.                                           

The mean forecast in a Reuters poll of 27 analysts had been for a €157 million loss. The company made a €370 million loss in the year ago period.                                           

Restructuring charges in the first quarter were €3 million against an average forecast of €51 million.