Nokia Oyj reported a 73 percent fall in fourth-quarter earnings as sales of its new Windows Phones failed to dent the dominance of Apple Inc's iPhone or compensate for diving sales of its own old smartphones. The world's largest cellphone maker by volume unveiled a year ago a major strategy shift to Microsoft Corp software for its smartphones in an attempt to challenge Apple and Google Inc's Android.
But Apple's phones in particular have proved far more popular. Nokia said it expected its phone business' underlying earnings to be around breakeven in the first quarter, well below analysts forecasts, with sales falling more than usual in the seasonally weaker quarter. To close the gap, Nokia will need to move quickly to push out the phone into more markets and with secure more partners.
Windows Phones have only been released in 15 markets so far, meaning Nokia has yet to take full advantage of its world-wide sales force - a presence that could help boost sales fast.
In the United States, it has partnered with No 4 US carrier T-Mobile to enter the US smartphone market, and has yet to break into two of the other largest smartphone markets in the world - China and Japan. A ramp up in those countries could help Nokia close the gap with rivals.
Nokia's fourth-quarter core earnings per share of 0.06 euro were better than the market's expectation for 0.04 euro. The results were boosted by a $250 million payment from Microsoft as part of the Windows Phone sales deal. Shares in the Nokia were up 1 percent to 4.10 euros at 1526 GMT, regaining some ground lost over the past week following poor results from its suppliers. Nokia proposed a 0.20 euro-per-share dividend for 2011, slightly more than expected.
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