Nokia (NYSE: NOK) expects its share of the handset market to be lower in Q3 than Q2 – a change from its July 17 forecast, when it projected unchanged share. In a stock exchange note, the Finnish outfit blamed competition, its refusal to follow competitors by cutting prices and a roll-out delay for an unnamed smartphone.
Still, Nokia expects an increase over the course of the full year, forecasting handset volume to be 10 percent up on last year’s 1.14 billion. That’s despite it saying the overall mobile device market this year will be hit by “weaker consumer confidence in multiple markets”.
From the analysts’ call: “It’s too early to estimate with precision – but we expect them to be just slightly down. We haven’t unduly sacrificed gross margins by playing this game of aggressive pricing.” Still, Nokia did cut prices last quarter, as we reported at the time.
Asked about multiple recent handset delays, including the one mentioned: “It’s absolutely not anything systemic – they’re not related issues.” The E-series portfolio is “clearly on track” and “we’ve got more work to do” with the Nseries but more of those devices are coming by year’s end. Shares immediately dived by about 10 percent.