Nokia sales fell 19% to EUR 7.239 billion compared to a year earlier as the number of devices shipped, especially smartphones, continued to slide during the company’s transition. Lumia Q3 volumes decreased quarter-on-quarter to 2.9 million units. One brightspot was Nokia Siemens Network, which experienced record profitability following a year of restructuring (see next story).
“As we expected, Q3 was a difficult quarter in our Devices & Services business; however, we are pleased that we shifted Nokia Group to operating profitability on a non-IFRS basis. In Q3, we continued to manage through a tough transitional quarter for our smart devices business as we shared the exciting innovation ahead with our new line of Lumia products,” stated Stephen Elop, Nokia
“And, Nokia Siemens Networks had a remarkable quarter in which we achieved record profitability on a non-IFRS basis and the Nokia Siemens Networks cash balance increased for the fourth quarter in a row.
“While we continue to focus on transitioning Nokia, we are determined to carefully manage our financial resources, improve our competitiveness, return our Devices & Services business to positive operating cash flow as quickly as possible, and ultimately provide more value to our shareholders.”
Nokia also said that it expects the fourth quarter 2012 to be a challenging quarter in Smart Devices, with a lower-than-normal benefit from seasonality in volumes, primarily due to product transitions to the new Lumia devices.
