It's cold in Finland right now -- cold, dark, and cheerless. The country's favorite son, telecom giant Nokia
Amid increasing handset competition and weak orders for infrastructure equipment, Nokia saw sales fall 1% quarter-over-quarter to $14.6 billion. IFRS-standard net income (think GAAP for Europeans) fell to a rare loss of $0.22 per share and American depositary receipt (ADR).
Most of the red ink came from a $1.35 billion goodwill writedown on Nokia Siemens Networks, the mobile infrastructure venture Nokia runs alongside Siemens AG
Back out the non-cash writedown, and you get a $0.25 pro forma profit per share instead. The handset business was decent in markets like Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East/Africa -- but dismal in North America and parts of Asia.
Management conceded that Nokia didn’t gain any market share this quarter, but hopes to reverse that trend in coming quarters. Nokia has updated its product line with new smartphones intended to go head-to-head with the Apple
In the network equipment sector, the picture is a bit clearer -- and darker. Nokia Siemens is simply losing share to market leader LM Ericsson
Is Nokia doomed to a long, cold winter, or will the Finns turn things around anytime soon? Tell me what you think in the comments below.