Nokia 2nd Quarter Results: £638 Million Operating Loss
Nokia's financial results announced today are a real mixed bag from the struggling Finnish smartphone company. The 2nd quarter 2012 period results show that it made an operating loss, of £638m compared to a £1bn loss in the first quarter of 2012.
Net sales were up slightly from €7.4bn in the first quarter to €7.5bn in the second quarter. Though sales of mobile phones were down 5% quarter-on-quarter and 26 % compared to the same period last year.
The headline figure from Nokia's point of view will be the sale of 4 million Lumia devices in the quarters, which is significantly higher than expected. Only 600,000 of these phones were sold in the US however, a market which is vital for future growth..
However, the profit made on the sale of each phone by Nokia has dropped dramatically with the gross margin going from 15.6 % in the first quarter to just 1.4 % in the second quarter. A sure indication that Nokia is cutting prices to gain market share.
In response to these figures The CEO Stephen Elop said,
"Nokia is taking action to manage through this transition period. While the 2nd quarter was a difficult quarter, Nokia employees are demonstrating their determination to strengthen our competitiveness, improve our operating model and carefully manage our financial resources."
Written and presented by Ann Salter