Nokia, the world's leading mobile phone maker, recorded stronger than expected phone sales in the fourth quarter, saying it would post better overall earnings than previously forecast.
Nokia said its mobile phones sales during the quarter increased by an annual rate of 4% to about €7 billion. The company had previously expected sales to be 'flat to slightly up'.
The improvement was attributed to better than expected demand for its handsets, and was in spite of the strong euro.
In addition, Nokia Networks' sales in the fourth quarter were 'significantly' higher than estimated and reached about €1.7 billion, compared with a previous forecast of €1.4 billion.
Nokia, which is scheduled to publish its full results on January 22, estimated its fourth quarter earnings per share to be in the 0.28-0.29 euro range, up from the 0.21-0.23 euro range previously forecast.
