Nokia has posted net sales of €9.8 billion in the third quarter of 2009, down 20%, compared to net sales of €12.23 billion in the same period last year.
The company reported a net loss of €913m, compared to €1.1 billion in the same quarter previous year. This included a goodwill write-off of €908m on its network joint venture Nokia Siemens Networks division.
The handset maker shipped 108.5 million mobile devices, down 8% year on year and up 5% sequentially. Nokia estimates its mobile device market share remained flat at 38% in the third quarter.
The net sales of its Devices and Services group was down 19.6% to €6.9 billion compared to the year-ago quarter.
Olli-pekka kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia, said: The demand for mobile devices improved in many markets during Q3. With the average selling price of our devices holding firm quarter-on-quarter, our higher device volumes translated into increased net sales in our Devices & Services business. Our volumes and net sales were, however, somewhat constrained by component shortages we encountered across the portfolio. I also want to highlight the good operating expense management that helped the segment deliver solid earnings.
The challenging competitive factors and market conditions in the infrastructure and related services business necessitated non-cash impairment charges at Nokia Siemens Networks. We continue to support Nokia Siemens Networks actions to improve its performance.
Nokia expects its market share to be flat in 2009, compared with 2008. It expects industry mobile device volumes in the fourth quarter 2009 to be up sequentially. It expects industry mobile device volumes to be approximately 1.12 billion units in 2009.