Nokia's Results: More Phones, Less Profit

Nokia posted third quarter income of $956 million on sales of $8 billion in a mixed report that signaled increased phone sales and lower revenue.

The world's largest phone maker revealed a 23 percent growth in mobile phone shipments to 45.5 million units, but still a drop of 5 percent in sales. The reason for the disparity was that Nokia's phones were selling for an average of 19 percent lower than in the previous year's quarter.

In a prepared statement, Jorma Ollila, Nokia CEO, said the pressure on sales and earnings was compounded by currency fluctuations - primarily a drop in the dollar vis a vis the euro - and by Nokia's sales of low-margin phones in countries with emerging economies.

Mobile phone sales were flat year on year. Ollila pointed to the rollout of WCDMA mobile phones and infrastructure equipment citing Nokia's role there "as the market leader." He predicted that this year's mobile phones' growth would come in at about 460 million units and that Nokia's sales rate would outpace the market.

Ollila took note of the company's recent plan to reorganize into four separate units and said: "Under our new operational structure, we are poised to seize the opportunity of the next growth wave in this industry and bring the benefits of mobility to consumers, companies and communities across the board."

This story courtesy of Techweb.