Yesterday's 10-K filings revealed Microsoft's plans to cut a further 2,850 jobs, but less focused on was the company's report on phone sales for the fiscal year. By deducting the number's from the previous quarterly reports, a Lumia sales number for the fourth quarter can be discerned.
The numbers were missing from Microsoft's Q4 FY2016 report, possibly because they aren't very promising. Last quarter's sales were the lowest at 2.3 million, and this quarter's are smaller yet.
The SEC filing read:
“Phone revenue decreased $4.2 billion or 56%, as we sold 13.8 million Microsoft Lumia (“Lumia”) phones and 75.5 million other phones in fiscal year 2016, compared with 36.8 million and 126.8 million sold, respectively, in fiscal year 2015.”
It puts the total number of Lumia sales for the fiscal year at 13.8 million. The first quarter accounted for 5.8 million, the second 4.5, and the third 2.3. This puts fourth quarter sales at just 1.2 million.
The number is the lowest yet and marks a very fast decline over the past two quarters. It comes as little surprise considering the lack of product promotion, and can only be expected to drop further.
Lay Offs
Microsoft is clearly done with trying to keep a hold on it's Lumia line. They have been increasingly brutal with their job cuts to account for the fall in revenue, which is probably a smart move considering the rate of decline.
The 2,850 employees being expelled by June 2017 are primarily in their phone hardware division. They follow the loss of 1,350 smartphone jobs in Finland, putting the total number at 2,980, though some of these will be in sales.
Lumia phone production has been discontinued, so losses were always expected, and Microsoft's mobile hardware could still make a comeback with the Surface Phone. The new numbers do not look promising, however, and sour the company's mobile reputation.
