The world's top mobile phone maker Nokia today reported a slight fall in first-quarter net profit, though it beat analyst expectations.
But its global mobile phone market share shrank to 29%.
The company's net profit fell only 1.4% to €344m from €349m in the first quarter of 2010. Analysts had predicted a net profit of €279m.
Today's figures are the first quarterly results to be released since Nokia chief executive Steven Elop said in February that the company, facing stark competition in the vital smartphone market from iPhone, Blackberry and Google, would abandon its own mobile operating system and start using one designed by Microsoft instead.
'In the first quarter, we shifted from defining our strategy to executing our strategy,' Elop said in the earnings statement.
'I am pleased to report that we signed our definitive agreement with Microsoft and already our product design and engineering work is well under way,' he added.
Nokia said its net sales were up 9.1% to €10.4 billion, compared to €9.5 billion a year earlier.
But the company's global mobile phone market share continued its downward slide, falling to 29% from 33% in the first quarter of 2010 and from 31% in the fourth quarter.
Referring to the Microsoft deal, Mr Elop said product design and engineering work was 'well under way'. The partnership, first announced in February, will make Windows Phone software the main platform used in the Finnish company's smartphones.
He did not say when the Nokia Windows phone would be launched, but added that 'devices that take advantage of the Windows phone platform will be shipping in volumes in 2012'.
