Nokia sees 24 percent revenue dip but cuts losses by €709m in Q2

CEO Stephen Elop says Lumia 1020 will boost smartphone revenues

Nokia has cut its year-on-year operating loss by €709m in 2013, helped by stronger profits in its Nokia Siemens Networks telecoms equipment division.

The Finnish company posted a €115m operating loss in its Q2 Financial Statement, marking an improvement on the €824m loss it posted for the same period in 2013. Revenue was down 24 percent, from €7.5bn in the second quarter of 2012 to €5.7bn in the same period this year.

Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop said the decreased losses are largely due to the strong performance of Nokia Siemens Networks, which posted an €8m operating profit for the period.

"We benefited from another strong performance at Nokia Siemens Networks, which continued to deliver well against its focused strategy. With our recent announcement to purchase Siemens' 50 percent stake in Nokia Siemens Networks, we believe we will create value for Nokia shareholders and look forward to strengthening Nokia Siemens Networks as a more independent entity," he said.

Nokia fully acquired Siemens on 1 July, paying €1.7bn to take over the German company.

Nokia's smart device division continued to struggle, with the company selling just 7.4 million Lumia devices during the period, despite the release of several new smartphones. The sales meant the division posted a €33m operating loss for the period, against sales of €1.16bn. Elop said despite the loss, the division is showing signs of recovery, beating the €472m loss recorded during the same period last year.

"In Devices and Services, our Mobile Phones business unit started to demonstrate some signs of recovery in the latter part of the second quarter following a difficult start to the year," he said.

Elop said the company expects the arrival of its new flagship Lumia 1020 to further help the division's ongoing battle to return to profitability. "We are very proud of the recent creations by our Lumia team, from the Lumia 520 - our most affordable Windows Phone 8 product which has enjoyed a strong start in markets like China, France, India, Thailand, the UK, the US and Vietnam - to the Lumia 1020, our star imaging product, which we unveiled to the world last week. During the third quarter, we expect that our new Lumia products will drive a significant part of our Smart Devices revenue," he noted.

The Lumia 1020 was unveiled in New York and is the second Nokia phone to feature a 41MP rear-camera sensor. For a more in-depth look at the Nokia Lumia 1020, check out V3's hands-on review.