Nokia reports record Lumia sales Jul 18th 2013, 15:49
Press Association –
Nokia has reported a fall in revenue but record sales of its flagship smartphone as it fights to reclaim ground lost to rivals Apple and Samsung.
The Finnish firm sold 7.4 million Lumia devices in the second quarter of this year following the launch of a string of new models.
But total mobile phone sales declined to 61 million from 84 million during the previous year.
Experts said the latest results were still positive but suggested the firm has some way to go before it can pose a threat to the two dominant tech giants.
According to its second quarter report, Nokia Group's net sales amounted to 5.7 billion euros (£4.9 billion), down 3% quarter on quarter. Total mobile phone sales also decreased quarter on quarter by 4% to 53.7 million units.
However, shipments of Lumia phones increased by 32% - a rise Nokia attributed to "strong demand" for the broadened product range.
Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop welcomed the latest figures. He said: "We're pleased to report an underlying operating profit for the fourth consecutive quarter on a group level. We benefited from another strong performance at Nokia Siemens Networks, which continued to deliver well against its focused strategy."
He said the company now planned to take action to "focus its product offering and improve product competitiveness". He added: "During the third quarter, we expect that our new Lumia products will drive a significant part of our smart devices revenue."
Stuart Miles, who runs tech website Pocket Lint, said the quarterly report offered some hope for the firm at a time when "the whole industry is down". And he said the decline in Nokia's fortunes was linked to its decision to axe the Symbian operating system.
"It's positive, and shows just how badly BlackBerry are doing," he added. "They aren't out of the woods yet. The latest release, the Lumia 1020, should help and if they can get to the all important 10 million handsets a quarter, it might give them the momentum they sorely need."
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