|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nokia sees steady growth
HELSINKI, Finland -- Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, on Thursday posted improved profits in the third quarter and said it expected steady earnings for the remainder of the year as demand for new handsets picks up. Nokia also stuck by its forecast for industry-wide handset sales in 2002 and said it would increase its share of the market in the fourth quarter. Net income rose 228 percent to 610 million euros ($596 million), or 0.13 euros a share, in the third quarter compared with 186 million euros, or 0.04 euros a share, a year earlier. Sales increased by 2 percent to 7.22 billion euros in the third quarter from 7.05 billion a year earlier. Nokia's closely watched pro-forma earnings per share -- a figure excluding one-time costs -- came in at 0.18 euros, higher than most estimates and above its own forecast of 0.15 to 0.17 euros. Pro-forma earnings per share in the third quarter of 2001 was 0.16 euros. The company said pro-forma earnings per share would be 0.23 to 0.25 euros in the fourth quarter, with sales rising to between 8.9 and 9.2 billion euros. Nokia did not provide guidance for 2003. It is scheduled to announce its revenue and volume forecasts in January. "Overall, the result was very good. Nokia is continuing to dominate the mobile phone market," Jussi Uskola, an analyst at Nordea Securities in Helsinki, told Reuters. Nokia's stock, which has fallen more than 50 percent this year, was up 7.3 percent to 16.10 euros in mid-morning Helsinki trading. Like other mobile phone companies, Nokia is hoping new handsets that offer multimedia messaging, cameras and colour screens will revive a stagnant market. Global mobile phone sales fell for the first time last year and there are concerns the industry may not be meet a consensus sales target of 400 million units this year unless consumers start buying the new handsets. On Thursday, Nokia Chief Executive Jorma Ollila said that target was still attainable. "The handset market is entering a new growth period spurred by the arrival of an increasing number of mass volume products with colour and multimedia messaging capability, all enriching the customer experience," Ollila said in a statement. "Current visibility suggest overall market volume for 2002 will reach our earlier eexpectations of 400 million units sold." On September 6, Nokia launched its new 3650 mobile phone, which features a large colour display, ring tone composer, numerous games and a built-in camcorder. It also unveiled the budget colour-screen phones, the 3510i, that should retail at about 200-300 euros without subsidies and attract the youth market. The launch of new phones is crucial to maintain Nokia's dominant position. It has a markets share of about 36 percent, more than double that of its nearest rival Motorola of the United States. Both models -- 3650 and 3510i -- feature multimedia messaging (MMS) technology, which is currently being rolled out in Europe to enable consumers to send and receive pictures, sound clips and play games. They also include high-speed GPRS technology. "With the ramp up of new high-volume consumer products and the rise of holiday product campigns, the company expects fourth quarter market share to be substantially higher than in the third quarter," Nokia said in a statement on Thursday.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
