The world’s fourth biggest handset vendor, Sony Ericsson, more than doubled its profits in the first quarter as the company’s Walkman and Cyber-shot branded phones continue to sell like hot cakes.

Net income for the quarter jumped to Eur245m compared to Eur109m in the same period last year, as the Japanese-Swedish joint venture recorded a 63 per cent increase in handset shipments to 21.8 million.

Sales for the quarter were Eur2.9bn, representing a year on year increase of 47 per cent.

Miles Flint, president of Sony Ericsson, attributed the increase in units shifted to low and mid-tier products such as the W300 and W200 Walkman phones and the K310 camera phone.

“Margins improved year-on-year despite the increased proportion of mid and low tier products in the line-up illustrating management’s focus on controlling cost and maintaining margins while expanding Sony Ericsson’s appeal to a wider market,” he said.

Sony Ericsson announced two new Cyber-shot phones and five additional Walkman models across a variety of price points during the quarter as well as the company’s first HSDPA handset.

However, the average selling price (ASP) of handsets decreased to Eur134 from Eur149 as the company introduced more mid-tier and “competitively priced” phones.