Irish arm of Nokia increases pre-tax profit by 63%

THE IRISH arm of mobile phone giant Nokia last year increased pre-tax profits by 63 per cent to €11.1 million.

In accounts just posted at the Companies’ Office, Nokia (Ireland) Ltd reports a 7 per cent rise in turnover to €270.8 million from €251.4 million in 2008. The company confirmed that revenue was secured solely through the sale of mobile phone handsets in Ireland last year.

The latest data from the body charged with the regulation of the sector, Comreg, confirms that there are currently 4.8 million mobile phones in use in Ireland.

The filings show that Nokia Ireland’s pre-tax profits increased to €11.1 million from €6.7 million during the year.

According to the directors of Nokia Ireland, “the level of business for the financial year was in line with expectations”.

They state: “While penetration in the handset market approaches 120 per cent, it is evident that the company is in a replacement handset market.”

The filings show that last year the company’s cost of sales increased by 6 per cent from €236 million to €251 million, while the company had accumulated profits of €14.4 million at the end of December 2008.

The directors state: “Nokia continues to expect 2009 industry mobile device volumes will decline by 10 per cent from 2008 levels. Nokia continues to expect the decline to be greater in the first half than in the second half of the year.”