Nokia sells 8.8 million Lumia devices and posts surprise €118m profit

Finnish firm sees improvements but still has a long way to go to rival Apple

Nokia has announced it sold 8.8 million Lumia smartphones in the third quarter of 2013 which helped it to a surprise profit of €118m for the period.

The sales were up 40 percent on the same period in 2012 when 6.3 million devices were sold and up 19 percent on the second quarter of 2013 when 7.4 million devices were sold. The profit of €118m stands in stark contrast to the same period last year when Nokia revealed losses of €564m, and it was also an improvement on Q2 2013 when it lost €115m.

The success, albeit modest, came during a turbulent quarter for the firm after it agreed to sell its handset business to Microsoft for €5.44bn and took on full ownership of the Nokia Siemens Network (NSN) partnership.

Nokia's interim president Timo Ihamuotila said that the sales proved the firm was moving in the right direction after a difficult period.

"The third quarter was among the most transformative in our company's history. We became the full owner of NSN and we agreed on the sale of our handset operations to Microsoft, transactions which we believe will radically reshape the future of Nokia for the better," he said.

"Subject to the completion of the Microsoft transaction, Nokia will have a significantly improved earnings profile, a strong financial position and a solid foundation from which to invest."

While the increased sales and profits will be welcome news for Microsoft as it prepares to take on the Nokia brand, the figures also underline the scale of the challenge facing the firm.

Nokia's third quarter sales did not even match Apple's opening weekend sales for its new iPhone range which totalled nine million - part of its 33.8 million sales in its fourth quarter for 2013.

Nokia will be hoping its push into the tablet market with the Lumia 2520 also helps increase its position in the market as it prepares to square off against the likes of Apple, Microsoft and Google in the tablet market.