The world’s top mobile phone maker Nokia reported a return to profit in the third quarter, posting an unexpectedly strong net figure of 529 million euros (US$741 million), but revised down its projected market share for this year.
The group also said it would shed 1,800 jobs around the world and its shares soared.
Nokia shares jumped 7.9 percent to 8.32 euros, on a Helsinki stock exchange up 2.2 percent, as investors reacted to the marked improvement over the 559 million euro loss posted for the third quarter last year.
Net sales of 10.27 billion euros were in line with industry expectations for the quarter.
Nokia however took a beating in market share, which dropped to 30 percent in the third quarter, compared with 34 percent for the same period last year.
The company, which had previously said it expected its full-year market share to remain flat this year, said yesterday it expected its market share this year to slip slightly compared with last year.
In a separate statement, Nokia defended its planned job cuts, saying it needed to streamline its Symbian smartphones division.
Nokia is under pressure from the likes of Apple’s iPhone and smartphones running Google’s Android operating system. These are seen as faster and easier to use than Nokia’s phones, which have not yet begun the transition from the Symbian platform to the more promising Linux-based MeeGo platform.
“Our company faces a remarkably disruptive time in the industry, with recent results demonstrating that we must reassess our role in and our approach to this industry,” new president and chief executive Stephen Elop said.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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