Nokia slumps again as device demand falters before Microsoft move

Firm vague on figures but Redmond has its work cut out

Nokia has reported net sales of €12.7bn for 2013, down 17 percent on 2012, as its mobile phone divisions failed to generate big returns. Fourth-quarter revenues painted a similarly negative picture, with profits down 39 percent to €408m compared with the same quarter in 2012.

The financials are the last for Nokia before its mobile phone unit is incorporated into Microsoft. As such, the company listed device sales under ‘discontinued operations'.

Nokia said net sales of these operations were down by 29 percent from €15.1bn in 2012 to €10.7bn in 2013. For the fourth quarter of 2013 this was also down by 29 percent, from €3.7bn in 2012 to €2.6bn in 2013.

Nokia blamed this on competitive markets in both the low end and the high end, where it sells its Lumia range.

The firm said: "The decline in mobile phone net sales was due to lower volumes and average selling prices, affected by competitive industry dynamics, including intense smartphone competition at increasingly lower price points and intense competition at the low end of our product portfolio.

"The decline in smart device net sales was due to lower volumes, affected by competitive industry dynamics including the strong momentum of competing smartphone platforms, as well as our portfolio transition from Symbian products to Lumia products."

Much of the focus for Nokia, once its device division is fully incorporated into Microsoft, will be on its NSN networks division (formerly standing for Nokia Siemens Networks), but the signs were mixed for its future too.

Fourth-quarter revenues for NSN were €3.1bn, a drop of 22 percent year-on-year, but a rise of 20 percent over the previous quarter.

Risto Siilasmaa, Nokia's interim CEO, said the figures marked the end of an era at Nokia as its mobile phone unit prepares to become a full part of Microsoft.

"The fourth quarter of 2013 was a watershed moment in Nokia's history. Having received overwhelmingly strong support from our shareholders at our extraordinary general meeting in November for the sale of our phone business to Microsoft, we are diligently working towards defining Nokia's future direction," he said.

"I am pleased with the progress we have made thus far in our strategy evaluation and excited by the opportunities ahead for each of our three continuing businesses: NSN, Here and Advanced Technologies."