Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, said today that it expected to 'meet or even exceed' its earlier earnings forecasts for the fourth quarter, anticipating a 20% rise in total sales during the period.
The Finnish group said in a mid-quarter update that the mobile phone market had developed according to company expectations, with global sales of mobile phones expected to be in the range of 105-110 million in the fourth quarter.
The group said it believed the strongest growth would be noted in the Americas and Europe, and predicted its mobile phone sales would rise by 25% in the fourth quarter from the third.
'With the competitive pricing environment for mobile phones more stable, channel inventories normalised and record unit sales for the company in the first two months of the quarter, Nokia continues to expect significant market share gains in its mobile handset business this year,' it said.
A strong start for the Nokia 8310 model and brisk sales in the US have made an important contribution to fourth quarter sales so far, the group said.
For its Networks division, Nokia said sales were expected to rise in the fourth quarter from the third, but fall by 20% compared to the fourth quarter of 2000.
