Nokia slides to €68m loss

Mobile phone maker Nokia has announced a third-quarter net loss of €68m compared with a profit of €529m a year earlier.

Sales of smartphones plunged 39% and overall revenue dipped 13%.

Net sales in July to September were €8.9bn, down from €10.2bn in the same period in 2010.

The Finnish firm said the decrease in device and services sales was driven by a lower average selling price in mobile handsets and smartphones and an appreciation of the euro against certain currencies.

It said the lower volumes were due to the “strong momentum of competing smartphone platforms” relative to Nikon’s higher priced Symbian devices, as well as “pricing tactics by certain competitors”.