Lumia sales drive otherwise disappointing Nokia earnings
The early numbers for Nokia in 2013 are out, and they're a mixture of good and bad. Overall sales were down 20% for the company on the quarter, amassing only 5.9 billion euros compared to the 7.4 billion last year. Operating costs for the company were also in the red at around 150 million euros, but that is actually an improvement when compared to the operating loss of over 1 billion euros just a year ago.
Fortunately for the Finnish company, their Lumia smartphones managed to provide a bright spot for the earnings report, rising 27% with over 5.6 million units sold. These numbers were supported by strong sales for the Lumia 520 and Lumia 720 devices, which launched this quarter, reflecting an "increasing momentum" according to the release.
Although Lumia sales have steadily shown a significant quarterly increase, the company has yet to gain the market share they used to have. Once known as the world's largest phone manufacturer, Nokia has struggled lately in keeping up with Samsung and Apple. Analysts currently project sales of 61 million and 37 million units for the two companies respectively, a far cry from what Nokia has managed to bring in.