Nokia posts £787m loss as sales falter ahead of crucial period
SALES of Nokia’s flagship smartphones failed to impress over the summer ahead of the launch of the crucial next generation of models, although figures released by the Finnish firm yesterday showed that cheaper models performed well.
Nokia posted a loss of €969m (£787m) in the three months to October, its sixth successive quarterly deficit, although the firm actually performed better than the market’s gloomy expectations.
All eyes are now on the success of the next iteration of the high-end Lumia smartphones, which will run the forthcoming Windows 8 operating system.
Chief executive Stephen Elop told investors he was encouraged by the level of interest in the new phones, and claimed he has the backing of mobile phone networks, which are concerned about the dominance of Apple and Samsung.
Nokia sold 2.9m Lumia phones in the three-month period, around 10 per cent of the smartphones Apple is expected to have sold.