Nokia Q4 profit drops 69% amid falling handset sales

Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia today reported a 69 per cent dip in net profit at euro 576 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2008, amid deteriorating global economic conditions impacting the company's handset sales.

The company had a net profit of euro 1.84 billion in the December quarter of FY2008, Nokia said in a statement.

Nokia's net sales plunged to euro 12.7 billion in the quarter under review from euro 15.8 billion in the corresponding period a year ago.

In the fourth quarter 2008, the total number of mobile handset sale by Nokia's Devices and Services group stood at 113.1 million units, representing a decline of 15 per cent year on year, the statement added.

"In recent weeks, the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated rapidly with even weaker consumer confidence, unprecedented currency volatility and credit tightness continue to impact mobile communication industry. We are taking action to reduce overall costs and to preserve our strong capital structure," Nokia Chief Executive Officer Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said.

Besides, the world's largest mobile-phone maker expects the sale of mobile device to decrease in the first quarter 2009 to an extent greater than the seasonal sequential decrease in the first quarter of the past few years.

The company expects mobile sales to decline by about 10 per cent from 2008 level.

The company's global market share fell to 37 per cent in the Q4 from 40 per cent in the same year-ago period.

Interestingly, India is second country after China where Nokia generated the greatest net sales in 2008.