Nokia (NOK) Higher on Q4 Results, Board Proposals; Mobile Volumes Up Q/Q
Revenue for the quarter fell from €12.651 billion during the year-ago quarter to €10.005 billion, a drop of 21 percent.
Nokia swung from an operating profit of €884 million to a loss of $954 million, or €0.29 per share, during the quarter. Excluding certain one-time items, Nokia reported earnings of €0.06 per share, down 73 percent from €0.22 per share last year.
Mobile device volume shrank 8 percent to 113.5 million units, and average selling price constricted 23 percent to €53 on a sequential basis. Compared with the third quarter 2011, volumes grew 6.6 percent and average selling price rose 3.9 percent.
Also of note, Device volume fell 81 percent to about 500,000 in North America, while growth in volume was recorded in Middle East & Africa, LatAm, and Asia/Pacific.
Mobile phone volume dropped 1 percent to 93.9 million year-over-year, but increased 4.6 percent sequentially.
Looking ahead, Nokia expects its non-IFRS Devices & Services operating margin in the first quarter 2012 to be around breakeven, ranging either above or below by approximately 2 percentage points. Factors influencing the decision include industry competition, greater-than-normal decline in Device & Services sales, timing of new products, and macro conditions.
The company is also looking to reduce its Devices & Services non-IFRS operating expenses by more than €1 billion for the full year 2013, compared to the forecasted full year 2010 Devices & Services non-IFRS operating expenses of €5.35 billion.
The company aims to pay a dividend for 2011 of €0.20 per share, and Chairman Jorma Ollila will not stand for re-election. The Board will propose the Annual General Meeting authorize the Board to resolve to repurchase a maximum of 360 million Nokia shares. The proposed maximum number of shares is the same as in the Board's current share repurchase authorization and it represents less than 10 percent of all the shares of the company.
Shares of Nokia are up 3.2 percent early.