For once, Nokia’s earnings report isn’t the kind of thing that makes investors weep like small children. In the fourth quarter of 2012, Nokia became successful once more — netting a $US585 million profit.
For some perspective, that’s a remarkable turnaround from the third quarter of 2012, which saw Nokia make a $US754 million loss, and an even more impressive achievement compared to the $US1.2 billion deficit it racked up in the fourth quarter of 2011.
So what’s the secret of the success? Well, in part it must be due to the strengthening of the company’s Lumia line: it saw a jump in sales from 2.9 million in the third quarter to 4.4 million in the fourth — but a year-on-year drop of 74 per cent in mobile sales suggests that it alone is not enough. Instead, sifting through the earnings report, it’s clear that the bulk of its income actually came from Nokia Siemens Network arm of the company.
All told, the company was left with an operating loss for 2012 of $US3.06 billion — which suggests that its decision not pay a dividend to shareholders despite making a profit is the correct one.