difenbaker
04-21-2006, 09:19 PM
Nokia earnings, sales beat all expectations
By Reuters
Published: April 20, 2006, 4:05 AM PDT
Mobile phone giant Nokia reported January-March earnings and sales above expectations on Thursday, boosted by strong demand in emerging markets like China, sending its shares sharply higher.
The world's top cell phone maker said its first-quarter earnings per share rose to 30 cents (0.25 euro), compared with expectations in the range 23 to 28 cents (0.19 to 0.23 euro) in a Reuters poll of 17 analysts.
First-quarter sales rose to $11.7 billion from $8.9 billion a year earlier, also beating all forecasts in the poll. Its shares gained 4.7 percent to $22.08 (18.25 euros) in early trading Thursday.
Nokia said it sold 75.1 million phones in the quarter, up 40 percent year-on-year and giving it a market share of 35 percent. Its closest rival, Motorola, sold 46.1 million phones over the same period.
Nokia, which has revamped its product portfolio since 2004, when it lost market share to rivals with more popular designs, benefited in the first quarter from strong sales of its N-series multimedia phones, such as the N70 model, the top revenue generator for the company in the quarter.
And the company said in the results statement it expected to hold on to its share of the market in the second quarter.
Motorola reported 61 percent growth in handsets sold in the quarter and smaller rivals also showed strong unit sales for the period, when demand usually falls after a busy Christmas.
Last week Nokia said its handsets went for an average price of $125 (103 euros) in the first three months, the highest level in three quarters and above all market expectations. But that price is still 6 percent down from the $133 (110 euros) in the same period a year ago.
"It looks strong on almost all accounts," said Karri Rinta, analyst at Nordea.
cheers!
By Reuters
Published: April 20, 2006, 4:05 AM PDT
Mobile phone giant Nokia reported January-March earnings and sales above expectations on Thursday, boosted by strong demand in emerging markets like China, sending its shares sharply higher.
The world's top cell phone maker said its first-quarter earnings per share rose to 30 cents (0.25 euro), compared with expectations in the range 23 to 28 cents (0.19 to 0.23 euro) in a Reuters poll of 17 analysts.
First-quarter sales rose to $11.7 billion from $8.9 billion a year earlier, also beating all forecasts in the poll. Its shares gained 4.7 percent to $22.08 (18.25 euros) in early trading Thursday.
Nokia said it sold 75.1 million phones in the quarter, up 40 percent year-on-year and giving it a market share of 35 percent. Its closest rival, Motorola, sold 46.1 million phones over the same period.
Nokia, which has revamped its product portfolio since 2004, when it lost market share to rivals with more popular designs, benefited in the first quarter from strong sales of its N-series multimedia phones, such as the N70 model, the top revenue generator for the company in the quarter.
And the company said in the results statement it expected to hold on to its share of the market in the second quarter.
Motorola reported 61 percent growth in handsets sold in the quarter and smaller rivals also showed strong unit sales for the period, when demand usually falls after a busy Christmas.
Last week Nokia said its handsets went for an average price of $125 (103 euros) in the first three months, the highest level in three quarters and above all market expectations. But that price is still 6 percent down from the $133 (110 euros) in the same period a year ago.
"It looks strong on almost all accounts," said Karri Rinta, analyst at Nordea.
cheers!