STRUGGLING PHONEMAKER Nokia basked in brightening prospects for its much-hyped Windows phone yesterday as it prepared to strengthen the hand of new boss Stephen Elop by replacing its old-guard chairman.
Shares in the Finnish company, which has been losing ground to rivals in the fast-moving market for “smart” mobile phones, topped the gainers board in the FTSEurofirst 300 index, standing 4.8 per cent higher at €4.076 by yesterday afternoon
Encouraging December figures from a Taiwan-based supplier of the phones provided fresh impetus for the stock, along with broker upgrades citing an improving outlook for the software tie-up with Microsoft on which it gambled its future last year.
Compal Communications, a provider of Nokia handsets, said December sales grew 275 per cent from a year earlier to 4.51 billion Taiwanese dollars (€117 million) from 1.2 billion Taiwanese dollars, according to a Taiwan Stock Exchange website posting.
In another report, the Commercial Times cited the company’s chairman saying the business could turn profitable this year as sales could more than double, although the company later said it had made no forecasts about 2012.
Trade website Digitimes, citing Taiwan-based supply chain makers, said Compal and fellow supplier Foxconn were expected to ship over 10 million smartphones in 2012.
Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to “outperform” from “underperform” on hopes of smartphone recovery.
“We fundamentally believe that Nokia’s focus on Windows will allow the company to drive a recovery through 2012 in both its top-line and earnings,” analyst Kulbinder Garcha said in a note.
The stock price rise came as a Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported the board would propose Risto Siilasmaa as its next chairman to replace long-time leader, Jorma Ollila, who is due to step down in May.
Mr Siilasmaa, a 45-year old entrepreneur, has been a Nokia board member since 2008 and is known in Finland as the founder of software security company F-Secure. He also chairs the board of Finnish telecom operator Elisa, but is little known outside the country. – (Reuters)
