Nokia confident on handset volumes this year: Strong support at T-Mobile USA bolsters growth in U.S.

Nokia Corp.’s stock shot up more than 8% today after it projected an upside to its 10% growth forecast for the handset industry this year.
Nokia also claimed 40% global market share, meaning it will take the lion’s share of that growth.
The Finnish handset giant reported revenue of $20.9 billion, a 4% jump from the year-ago quarter. The company shipped 122 million handsets in the second quarter, up 21% over the year-ago quarter. It earned a 20% margin on its handsets and nearly 15% over all its businesses.
The company said it grew handset shipments in nearly all regions of the world compared to the year-ago quarter, with a 42% jump in the critical Asia-Pacific region, nearly 11% in China and nearly 10% growth in its difficult North American markets. Growth in Latin American was 39% and the Middle East-Africa grew 23%. Europe – Nokia’s second-largest market and a weak spot last quarter – held steady.
Sequentially, Nokia’s volume growth in the notoriously elusive North American market was a prodigious 73%. Nokia’s volumes in China, however, declined 16% sequentially – a metric certain to receive scrutiny.
The company’s infrastructure joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks, saw revenue climb 18% from the year-ago quarter.
The company’s sales, worldwide growth in handset volumes and margins clearly outweighed other financial metrics in the minds of investors. Tepid news from the company included a 61% year-on-year drop in net profit due to restructuring costs and macro-economic conditions, and a drop in average selling prices to $117, down from $125 in the year-ago quarter.
Although the company missed analysts’ consensus for net profit, Wall Street’s approval clearly focused on Nokia’s prospects for the second half of the year, including a slate of new products that CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said had received “good feedback” from customers.
“Nokia’s second quarter delivered clear, positive surprises on sales, phone volumes and margins and annual guidance,” said analyst Tero Kuittinen at Global Crown Capital L.L.C. “The most impressive thing about Nokia’s performance was the astonishing sequential volume strength across the board.”
“Nokia was able to prove that it is not only a survivor, but that it is notably nimble, juggling several continents, offsetting the relative China weakness with a surprising, T-Mobile USA-driven surge in North America,” Kuittinen added. “This quarter highlights Nokia’s incredible regional diversity. Few tech companies are as well-hedged when it comes to its customer base.”