Nokia flexes muscle in handset space

Finnish mobile giant Nokia reported a hefty 85 per cent increase in net profit for the third quarter of 2007, with income leaping from Eur845m a year ago to Eur1.56bn.

Net sales for the quarter jumped 28 per cent year on year to Eur12.9bn, driven by strong growth across the board and the full consolidation of Nokia Siemens Networks.

The handset unit turned in Eur6.1bn, while Eur2.5bn came from Multimedia and Eur3.67bn came from the networks joint venture.

The mighty Finn shifted 111.7 million handsets during the quarter, up 26 per cent year on year, against estimated industry device volumes of 286 million units, up 17 per cent year on year.

Nokia now estimates its device market share to be 39 per cent.

Chief executive, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, said, “Nokia strengthened its leading position in the device industry in the third quarter. In a strong market, we simultaneously gained market share and increased our operating margins. The quality and depth of our device portfolio continues to give us a good competitive edge and we believe our portfolio looks promising for next year.”

Commenting on the increasing number of low end handsets the manufacturer is now shipping, Kallasvuo warned of a decrease in average selling prices due to the impact of the emerging markets.

On Nokia Siemens Networks, which recorded a third quarter operating loss of Eur120m, the company has updated its previous estimate of Eur1.5bn in charges associated with cost synergies to now be slightly above Eur2bn. The majority of the remaining charges associated with cost synergies will be recorded in the fourth quarter, the company said.

The cost synergy target for Nokia Siemens Networks continues to be approximately Eur1.5bn per year, to be achieved by the end of 2008, Nokia said. The company has also identified a further Eur500m of annual cost synergies, which will be realised by the end of 2008.