Nokia have published their quarter four figures for 2011 and they make for slightly depressing reading. You can find the figures here at the Nokia press site.
Some of the most interesting points from this are as follows.
Nokia have sold “well over 1 million lumia devices”
Operating profit at a loss of 954 million euros compared to profit of 884 million profit in the same quarter in 2010
Net sales are only down by 21% compared to the same quarter in 2010, so I’m guessing the massive loss will have been costs involved in advertsing and the transition to Windows Phone.
Nokia are putting a brave face on these figures. They are saying that 2012 is still going to be a transition period and they are not setting any goals for 2012 at all.
Stephen Elop the CEO of Nokia had quite a bit to say on the matter and here are some highlights of his announcement.
The fourth quarter of 2011 marked a significant step in Nokia’s transformation. Most notably, in Q4 we introduced new mobile phones and smartphones, which resulted from the strategy shift in our Devices & Services business.
Overall, we are pleased with the performance of our mobile phones business.
In the war of ecosystems, clearly there are some strong contenders already on the field. And with Lumia, we have demonstrated that we belong on the field. Our specific intent has been to establish a beachhead in this war of ecosystems, and country by country that is what we are now accomplishing. To date we have sold well over 1 million Lumia devices. From this beachhead of more than 1 million Lumia devices, you will see us push forward with the sales, marketing and successive product introductions necessary to be successful. We also plan to bring the Lumia series to additional markets including China and Latin America in the first half of 2012.
Specifically, changing market conditions are putting increased pressure on Symbian. In certain markets, there has been an acceleration of the anticipated trend towards lower-priced smartphones with specifications that are different from Symbian’s traditional strengths. As a result of the changing market conditions, combined with our increased focus on Lumia, we now believe that we will sell fewer Symbian devices than we previously anticipated.
Nokia believes it is currently not appropriate to provide annual targets for 2012 mainly for the following reasons:- 2012 is expected to continue to be a year of transition, during which our Devices & Services business will be subject to risks and uncertainties. Those risks and uncertainties include, among others, consumer demand for our Symbian devices; the timing, ramp-up, and consumer demand related to new products, including our Lumia devices; and further pressure on margins as competitors endeavor to capitalize on our platform and product transition;- Nokia Siemens Networks has announced a new strategy which focuses its business on mobile broadband and services, and has launched an extensive global restructuring program. – Additionally, the macroeconomic environment is making it increasingly difficult to estimate our outlook and provide reliable targets.
So this time next year we will see if it has all paid off. They certainly seem confident. Although a 954 million euro loss would certainly be hard to stomach. Strange Elop made no mention of it at all in his announcement.
Source – Nokia Press
I think they’ll turn it around because of Windows Phone. The greatest advantage they have is that Windows Phone is a quality product. The key will be price. One of the reasons Android gained traction is that it’s cheaper than iPhones. Given we are in a sort of recession, finances will be key. If MS subsidises the Lumia phones, and with some advertising, people will buy them (and then like them). If they are priced the same as Androids, it will be that much more difficult to convince people to buy Windows phones (“iOS and Android have all the apps, etc…”)
Yes it’s a quality product, But a lot of people find WP7’s user interface to be limiting (no customisations etc.) which gives android a big advantage there.
Will most likely buy a Nokia Windows Phone but only if they release information about Windows8.
As far the numbers go that perfectly make sense. They have to do some heavy advertising in order to enter the smartphone market, cause with 1.5 -5% market share of WP that is hardly worth to mention.
I must give them credit for really being the only one that really pushes WP (along with MS). Hopefully they will not get punished for that, personally I would really love to see WP coming on par with Android and Iphone.
The OS of WP is just fine, but its lacking popularity which results in a lower amount of applications (cause that is pretty much the point everybody is complaining at).
The only question is will WP become more popular? That is the only thing it needs to succeed, all the other things to “make it” are already in place.
agree with that. when i bought my android 2 years ago, it also wasn’t as popular and there were less apps, but it was obvious it had momentum behind it and look now, it has caught up. Once there’s a sense of traction with windows phone, i may well go with it, but trouble for them is they need to persuade a few people to take up the OS in the 1st place.
Indeed, not because something is good it actually gets sold.
Everything depends on how well they can market WP (goes for everything else).
For example a lot of news about the terrible working conditions where Apple products get made. Some even involve suicides and the such (not saying it is Apple only, although it seems they care the least).
That does not stop Apple fans from buying their products.Or the really high prices you pay for their comfort etc…
With all the huge $$ they throw into marketing i think its pretty fair to assume 2012 will either break or make WP. Although with Windows 8 coming in Q4, if it turns out bad Nokia will be pulling at the shortest cord though…