Nokia says losses narrow in Q2 but revenue plunges

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia today reported a reduced loss of 227 million euros (USD 298 million) in the second quarter, but sales again fell sharply.
The loss was 84 per cent less than in the same period last year, but revenue fell by 24 percent to 5.695 billion euros.
The decline in sales of traditional mobile phones continued, dropping 39 per cent from the level a year earlier in terms of value, while smartphone sales were down 24 percent over the same period.
Sales of Lumia, the smartphone on which the troubled company has bet its future, rose by 32 per cent from the previous quarter to 7.4 million units.

Nokia used to be the global leader in making mobile phones but has been overtaken by rivals and is struggling to establish winning business models and mobile devices.
"During the third quarter, we expect that our new Lumia products will drive a significant part of our smart devices revenue," chief executive Stephen Elop said in a statement.

Nokia's losses came in below a 276 million euro loss predicted by analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires, but the revenue fall was sharper than a 17 percent consensus.
The group has cut costs by reducing its workforce by 23 per cent in the past year and by seven per cent in the last quarter.

Results were also boosted by a turnaround at telecom equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), which made a profit of eight million euros, compared with a loss of 226 euros in the same period last year.