In a scheduled mid-quarter update, Nokia said that strong October and November sales had put the company in an extremely strong position to achieve this quarter’s earnings targets. The world’s largest mobile handset manufacturer expects total sequential net sales growth for the group to reach approximately 20%.
Nokia Networks sales are expected to be up sequentially, but down 20% year on year, while Nokia Mobile Phones sales for Q4 are expected to rise 25% compared with the third quarter.
Nokia said it expected to continue to achieve significant market share gains in its mobile handset business this quarter, particularly now as the competitive pricing environment for mobile phones has become more stable.
The company will have been pleased by the strong start made by its new model, the 8310. This and brisk sales in the US, in both the TDMA and CDMA markets, have made an important contribution to Q4 sales thus far.
