Nokia releases Q3 financial results, Lumia sales fall to 2.9 million

Nokia has published its financial results for Q3 2012, which shows the interesting position the company has found itself in. Smartphone sales have fallen drastically, as well as net sales from the division. Likely down to the imminent Windows Phone 8 release and new Lumia family of smartphones, Nokia experienced a 56 percent drop in net sales. In Q2 the company shipped 4 million Lumia devices, a steep decrease indeed.

The company has shifted to operating profitably on a non-IFRS basis, however. It's noted the tough transition Nokia has progressed through. Not only has the manufacturer moved over from Symbian, but to halt future hardware development on Windows Phone 7 in favour of Apollo was expected to hurt.

Stephen Elop commented on the financial report:

"As we expected, Q3 was a difficult quarter in our Devices & Services business; however, we are pleased that we shifted Nokia Group to operating profitability on a non-IFRS basis. In Q3, we continued to manage through a tough transitional quarter for our smart devices business as we shared the exciting innovation ahead with our new line of Lumia products.

While we continue to focus on transitioning Nokia, we are determined to carefully manage our financial resources, improve our competitiveness, return our Devices & Services business to positive operating cash flow as quickly as possible, and ultimately provide more value to our shareholders."

The company's US volume figures showed a 50 percent reduction quarter-on-quarter. While we're eagerly awaiting the Lumia launch, positive signs have been seen at retailers across Europe with the Lumia 920 topping charts in the pre-order stage. Should interest remain high and orders be fullfilled, Nokia will see a sharp increase in demand and supply, which should make Q4 paint a brighter picture.

Source: Nokia