Sony Ericsson underlined on Friday how 2009 will be a tough year for the world’s leading mobile phone makers by issuing a profit warning for the first quarter.

The handset manufacturer owned by Sony of Japan and Sweden’s Ericsson shocked investors by saying it was expecting to record a pre-tax loss of €340m-€390m, excluding restructuring charges, for the first three months of the year. Analysts had been expecting a loss of €216m.