Investors snapped up Nokia shares today as the Finnish mobile phone giant admitted profits fell last year but beat sales expectations and defied the loss-making trend in the sector.
The company also stood by plans to bring 'third-generation' products to market this year.
Nokia reported a net profit for 2001 of €2.2 billion, a 44% drop from the previous year. Excluding goodwill amortisation and non-recurring items, profit fell by 6% to €3.78 billion, in line with analysts' expectations.
The company also forecast slower sales in the first half of this year but Nokia shares shot up more than 5% to €25.75 in Helsinki as management predicted global mobile handset sales of 420 to 440 million units, a figure 15% higher than Nokia's own forecast late last year.
Nokia also stood by predictions that it would begin rolling out 'third-generation' mobile phones and related advanced mobile technologies for consumers in the second half of this year.
Chief executive officer Jorma Ollila said he was pleased with the results in a year characterised by 'intense competition, extreme volatility and a weakened global economy', noting the group's 'sustained solid profitability and extraordinarily strong operating cash flow of €6.5 billion'.
Nokia's rosy earnings report came just days after US rival Motorola announced a full-year 2001 loss of $3.9 billion. Swedish competitor Ericsson is expected to report a loss of around $3 billion when it presents its 2001 earnings report tomorrow.
