Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, has reported better than expected results for the third quarter, posting earnings per share of 18 cent on the back of €6.9 billion in sales.
'The third quarter brought a sharp increase in mobile phone volumes for Nokia. Mobile phone market volumes rose an impressive 15% year on year for the quarter to 118 million units,' chief executive Jorma Ollila said.
Nokia said it expected profitabilty to remain 'strong' until the end of the year, predicting fourth quarter earnings of 21 to 23 cent per share, though this was slightly below analysts' expectations.
Sales in the quarter were down 5% compared with the same period last year, mainly due to the strong euro, Nokia said, adding that on a constant currency basis, sales would have increased 4%.
Due to the pick up in demand, Nokia now estimates that global mobile phone sales will reach 460 million units this year, up over 10% compared with the 405 million units sold in 2002.
