Nokia is doing well

I was pleased to see a strong year-over-year strong growth in sales again in the third quarter. The overall 18 percent increase in sales was accompanied by a 29 percent increase in net profit, which in turn led to a 33 percent increase in earnings per share. The positive development in Nokia's revenue is due to the excellent performance of the handset business, which was underpinned by the growing strength of the product portfolio and Nokia's ability to manage costs efficiently and execute plans.

The overall growth in industry volume of 199 million handsets in the third quarter also exceeded our preliminary expectations. Thus, we again raised our full-year market forecast to approximately 780 million handsets. Nokia's own third-quarter volume reached a record high of 66,6 million handsets.

Nokia’s market share has also risen, currently estimated at 33 percent, which is above the 32 percent figure set last year in the third quarter last year. In China and the Asia-Pacific region, market share increased both sequentially and year-over-year, while in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Nokia’s share proved sequentially stable, while it grew year-on-year. In Latin America and, to a lesser extent, North America, our market share declined based on sequential measurements.

As reported in July, the profitability of the Networks business continued to be threatened during the third quarter. This is a combination of the very strong competition in the market, Nokia's continued growth in emerging markets, and the investments we have made to strengthen Nokia's presence in the expanding network services market.

In terms of mobile devices, Nokia has made significant progress in expanding and developing its product offering, which is currently the widest on the market and offers suitable products to all relevant consumer groups and commercial customers globally. Recently introduced models include mobile devices aimed at business users, a fold phone for high-growth markets, music-optimized phones, and even a fashion collection. Nokia’s sales have now reached $ 1 billion over the summer, with the anniversary piece bought in Nigeria in the person of a Nokia 1100.