Nokia reported its lowest profit in more than a decade as handset demand slumped. First-quarter net income declined to €122 million ($160 million), or 3 cents a share, from €1.22 billion, or 32 cents, a year earlier, Finnish company said in a statement.
Profit had been predicted at €232 million. Revenue dropped 27 per cent to €9.3 billion, missing the €9.80 billion analysts anticipated.
The company, which made more than a third of the mobile phones sold globally last year, has struggled in the high-end smartphone segment as Apple’s iPhone and Research In Motion’s BlackBerry models took market share.
Consumers are also reining in spending amid the economic slowdown, hurting replacement sales. Nokia reiterated its forecast for a 10 per cent decline in industry unit sales this year, with a bigger drop in the first half than the second.
Net income was the lowest since the second quarter of 1996, when profit was €87.1 million.