It’s a mixed bag of results from Nokia, indicating the company could be pulling through a difficult patch.
The company generally saw improved results when compared with the third quarter of 2012 but slumps when compared with the fourth quarter of 2011. This follows the July 2012 overall which saw a number of changes, including the announcement that more than 10,000 employees would be laid off, The Next Web reported.
Net sales for the quarter were â¬8 billion ( £6.8 billion), down 20% on the same quarter in 2011 but up 11% quarter on quarter. Full year net sales were â¬30.2 billion ( £25.6 billion), down 22% on 2011. This saw an operating profit of â¬439 million ( £371.5) in the fourth quarter, up from an operating loss of â¬576 million ( £488 million) in the third quarter and a loss of â¬954 million ( £808 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011.
However 2012 saw an overall operating loss of â¬2.3 billion ( £1.9 billion) compared with â¬1.1 billion ( £0.9 billion) in 2011.
Smart phone sales – 4.4 million Lumias sold
Device sales generally saw improvement from the third quarter of 2012 and the sale of 4.4 million Lumias.
Nokia said 15.9 million smart phones in total were sold; the Lumias, 9.3 million Ashas and just 2.2 million Symbians.
Symbian in general looks like it’s in shut-down mode; Nokia’s results detailed how marketing and research and development expenses had decreased due to the general ramping down of Symbian.
“We expect our Symbian devices to account for a significantly smaller portion of our overall Smart Devices volumes in the first quarter 2013 and going forward.”
However, the Lumia devices helped a shift in the fourth quarter to increased sales, Nokia said.
Net device and services sales were â¬3.9 billion ( £3.3 billion), up 8% from the third quarter but down 36% from the fourth quarter of 2011. In total, net sales for 2012 were â¬15.7 billion ( £13.3 billion), down 34% from 2011.
Smart device net sales were â¬1.2 billion ( £1.0 billion) for the fourth quarter, down 55% on Q4 2011 but up 26% from the third quarter’s â¬976 million ( £827 million). That was a total of 6.6 million units sold, up 5% from the third quarter, but down 66% from the fourth quarter 2012.
The full year saw sales of â¬5.4 billion ( £4.6 billion) smart devices, half of 2011’s total.
In all, Nokia sold 35.1 million smart devices in 2012, down from 77.3 million sold in 2011.
Mobile phone sales
Mobile phone net sales were â¬2.5 million, down 19% on Q4 2011 but up 4% on Q3 2012. In all, 79.6 million units were sold in the fourth quarter and 300.5 million in 2012. Net sales for the full year were â¬9.4 billion, down 21% on 2011.
Nokia’s board of directors decided there would be no dividend payment to “ensure strategic flexibility”. Chief executive Stephen Elop said the company was encouraged that the execution against business strategy had started to translate into financial results.
“Most notably we are pleased that Nokia Group reached underlying operating profitability in the fourth quarter and for the full year 2012.”
Describing the first half of 2012 as “difficult”, Mr Elop said Q4 had seen a strengthened financial position and record profitability in Nokia Siemens Networks, which saw an operating profit of â¬251 million ( £213 million), up 275% on Q4 2011 and 38% on the third quarter of 2012. For the year, it saw a loss of â¬799 million ( £677 million) compared with a loss of â¬300 million ( £254 million) in 2011.
“We remain focused on moving through our transition, which includes continuing to improve our product competitiveness, accelerate the way we operate and manage our costs effectively.”
