Nokia profits are down and the company is cutting back on shipments to key markets.
Nokia reported higher sales but lower net profit for the first quarter and are now making much lower unit shipments to key markets like the USA.
Net sales for the quarter, ended March 31, were $13.4 billion, up from the previous first quarter’s $12.9 billion, with net profit for the first quarter of this year at $1.33 billion. That is down from the previous first quarter’s net profit of $1.42 billion.
During the first quarter Nokia reported estimated industry device volumes of 253 million units, down 13 percent sequentially and up 18 percent year-on-year. Nokia said its device volume was 91.1 million units, down 14 percent sequentially and up 21 percent year-on-year and said its estimated device market share 36 percent, at the same level as Q4 2006 and up from 35 percent in Q1 2006.
Nokia reported an operating margin of 13.6 percent up sequentially from 13.3 percent in Q4 2006, excluding special items.
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO, said in a prepared statement, “I’m encouraged by Nokia’s first quarter 2007 performance. Our profitability was strong, with both gross and operating margins up sequentially, excluding special items. We also saw good year-on-year device volume growth that led to an increase in our market share, further solidifying our No. 1 position in the industry.”
Nokia’s unit sales for mobile devices for North America were down dramatically in the first quarter compared with the first quarter of last year and the fourth quarter of last year. Nokia shipped 4.8 million units in North America during the first quarter, down 42.5 percent from last year’s first quarter shipments of 8.4 million and down 19 percent from the fourth quarter’s 5.9 million units shipped.
