Sony’s smartphone business is still suffering at the hands of more popular rivals. The Japanese company posted its financial results for the last quarter this week, and while the rest of its business is thriving, its mobile division continues to hemorrhage cash.

You have to feel a little sorry for Sony Mobile. Like HTC, it produces stellar Android devices that are largely ignored by most smartphone consumers, who would prefer to buy from the likes of Apple and Samsung. As a result, it continues to struggle year after year.

Sony’s results for the July to September quarter make for bittersweet reading. The company saw a whopping 2 trillion yen (approx. $18.25 billion) in revenue, with a net profit of $1.15 billion. Its semiconductor and gaming business were hugely successful.

In fact, all of Sony’s businesses posted decent results — except one. Sony Mobile was the only one to lose cash to the tune of 2.5 billion yen (approx. $21.9 million) on the back of an income of just 3.7 billion yen (approx. $32.4 million). Unfavorable exchange rates did play a part in that.

“Deterioration was primarily due to a change in the geographic mix of smartphone sales, an increase in the price of key components, as well as the negative impact […] of the U.S. dollar,” Sony explained.

Nevertheless, it’s more bad news for Sony smartphone fans, and if the company cannot turn it around, you have to wonder how long it will swallow these losses before it decides Xperia handsets have to die.

[Sony]