January 27, 2006

Nokia reported gains in its business during the fourth quarter, but a drop in the company's mobile phone profits appeared to scare investors.

Nokia's shares dropped by around 28 cents per share to $18.21 after the company's earnings announcement.

Nokia reported $12.6 billion in net sales for the fourth quarter, up 9 percent from the year ago quarter. However, the company's operating profit declined 6 percent over that same period to $1.7 billion, largely due to declines in the company's handset and networks businesses.

Nokia sold 83.7 million mobile phones in the fourth quarter, which IDC said gives the company a 34.1 percent market share and a solid No. 1 position in terms of worldwide handset market share. No. 2 vendor Motorola Inc. came in with an 18.2 percent market share, according to IDC.

"The S60 platform continued to gain significant traction in high-end consumer segments, buoyed by the launch of the N70," IDC wrote in a report on the worldwide handset market.

Source: RCR