Nokia profits top forecast as sales beat expectations

NOKIA, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, said fourth-quarter profit topped its earlier forecasts as sales of wireless networks and handsets beat expectations.

The stock jumped as much as 16% on the news. Fourth-quarter sales were little changed at €8.8 billion from a year earlier, Nokia said. Mobile phone sales rose 4% to about €7 billion.

Nokia previously forecast handset sales would be “flat to slightly up”. Network sales fell 18% to €1.7bn from €2.08bn, beating the €1.4bn Nokia had forecast earlier.

Nokia’s sales growth has stalled, rising no more than 2% in any of the past 10 quarters, as phone companies such as France Telecom SA have cut spending on equipment.

Nokia last year introduced a record 35 phones to revive sales as European and US markets near saturation and average phone prices drop.

Shares in Espoo, Finland-based Nokia, rose as much as €2.25 to €16.40, giving Nokia a market value of €78bn. The stock traded at €16.14 in Helsinki, a one-year high.

Fourth-quarter earnings per share, excluding some costs, probably was 28c to 29c, compared with a previous forecast of 21c to 23c, Nokia said. Including all costs, earnings per share was 24c to 25c. Nokia said it sold 55.3 million phones in the fourth quarter.