Nokia has revealed its earnings for the final quarter of 2012, and things are starting to look up for the Finnish manufacturer and its range of Lumia Windows Phones.
The company reported profits of $584 million within the final three months of last year, with total net sales of $10.7 billion. It looks as though the bet to go with Microsoft and Windows Phone is finally starting to pay off, with Lumia smartphone sales reaching 4.4 million and beating the company’s ever-popular range of more basic Symbian-based feature phones for the first time.
Around 86.3 million Nokia phones were sold during Q4 of last year, which is a drop of 24% compared to the previous year. The company’s recently launched HERE mapping service for multiple smartphone and PC platforms has also driven profit;
“We are very encouraged that our team’s execution against our business strategy has started to translate into financial results” said CEO Stephen Elop.
“Most notably we are pleased that Nokia Group reached underlying operating profitability in the fourth quarter and for the full year 2012. While the first half of 2012 was difficult for Nokia Group, in Q4 2012 we strengthened our financial position, improved our underlying operating margin in Devices & Services, introduced the HERE brand to expand our mapping and location experiences, and drove record profitability in Nokia Siemens Networks.”
Nokia sold 4.4 million Lumia smartphones during Q4 of 2012, with Symbian handset sales dropping again to 2.2 million. The company’s affordable range of Asha phones proved most successful, with 9.3 million sold. These phones offer apps, email and web connectivity on a budget, and are often pushed harder in developing markets rather than in Europe and the US, where Nokia focuses on Lumia sales.
So it seems Nokia’s fortunes are slowly turning around, and with rumours of an aluminium-made ‘EOS’ Lumia flagship on the way, these are exciting times.