No demand for Nokia Oyj (HEL:NOK1V)-sales dip below estimates - MSFT, AAPL

Northern, WI 04/18/2013 (avauncer) - Even as the Finnish mobile handset-maker, Nokia Oyj (HEL:NOK1V) (Current: 2.42 EUR, Down by 8.28%) is hoping to make a comeback, sales of basic handsets dropped. The company has reported de-escalation in excess of analyst estimates. In Helsinki, the stock dipped as much as 6.6 percent. In a statement, the Espoo, Finland-based company said that its sales dropped to $7.6 billion (5.85 billion euros), by 20 percent while the analyst projection had been $6.25 billion euros. Nokia has been struggling to keep afloat in a market that is being flooded with hi-end, high-technology phones and has been fighting a long and drawn-out battle.

All efforts in vain
Adding new versions to its existing phones has been a logical option. This seems to have helped the lagging company to a certain extent. In the fourth quarter, sales of the Lumia smartphones that run on the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Current: $28.82, Down by 0.02%) Windows software rose from 4.4 million units to 5.6 million units. On the other hand, the combined quarterly sales of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) (Current: $395.92, Down by 1.78%) and Samsung Electronics Co. exceeded 100 million units. Stephen Elop the Nokia Chief Executive Officer has been trying very hard to turnaround the performance of the one-time market leader but rivals have been outperforming it on every front.

Innovation the key?
In a statement, Elop said that the company is making some strategic changes and introducing innovation to the market and hopes that this will address the current challenges that Nokia is facing. Through yesterday, the company lost 10 percent in 2013 while last year the stock had gone downhill by 22 percent which was its fifth annual consecutive drop. During this quarter, Nokia sold a total of 61.9 million mobile devices. The analyst’s estimates had been higher and the prediction had been that the company will sell a total of 73 million units inclusive of 5.7 million Lumias.