Nokia, the world's largest mobile-phone maker, warned investors on Tuesday that its first-quarter sales had fallen about 2 percent from a year ago rather than climbing as much as 7 percent as it had previously projected.
Nokia, based in Finland, said that its handset sales were hit unexpectedly hard by increased competition. The decline in revenue, to about US$8 billion for the quarter, would have been worse had sales of networking gear not been stronger than expected, according to the company, which will officially report quarterly results on April 16.
"We have not been able to grow with the market in the United States and Europe, where our share has been very strong," said Jorma Ollila, Nokia's chairman and chief executive, during a conference call with analysts on Tuesday.
Nokia has claimed more success in China recently, but growth in that market is slowing and Chinese manufacturers have increased their capacity, leading to brutal price competition.
Nokia's biggest problem is that it had been slow to recognize the popularity of clamshell phone designs, which have been extremely popular models for companies like Samsung and LG of Korea.
Some analysts said Nokia was also hurt by a resurgence at Motorola, the No. 2 cellphone producer. Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Illinois, was late to the market with camera phones but is now rapidly expanding distribution.
Mobile-phone manufacturers have been jockeying for position in the fiercely competitive global cellphone market. The swift introduction of a more conveniently shaped phone, or one with an attractive new function like a camera, can give a manufacturer an instant boost in market share.
The industry sold 25 percent more phones in the first quarter compared with a year ago. Nokia, however, estimated that its units sold increased just 19 percent for the quarter. That increase was not enough to overcome the decline in the average selling price of its phones, resulting in a revenue decline.
Net sales for the first quarter will be 6.6 billion euros (US$7.9 billion), Nokia said. Earnings per share are expected to be 0.17 euros, the company said, below analysts' average estimates of about 0.21 euros a share. Nokia said the results were tempered by better-than-expected growth in its networks division, where sales climbed 16 percent to 1.4 billion euros.
Ollila said during the conference call the Nokia will introduce a total of 40 phones this year, but analysts said that the mere introduction of new products doesn't ensure that Nokia's market share will start to grow again.
Nokia announces its official first quarter results on April 16.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
RSS