CALDEIRÃO DE BOLSA

Lança 40 novos telemóveis em 2005
Nokia surpreende com aumento de 18% nos lucros do primeiro trimestre
A Nokia aumentou inesperadamente os lucros do primeiro trimestre em 18%, superando as estimativas dos analistas que previam uma queda dos resultados. Esta evolução foi justificada pela empresa devido ao crescimento da procura por telemóveis.

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Sara Antunes
saraantunes@mediafin.pt



A Nokia aumentou inesperadamente os lucros do primeiro trimestre em 18%, superando as estimativas dos analistas que previam uma queda dos resultados. Esta evolução foi justificada pela empresa devido ao crescimento da procura por telemóveis.

Os resultados líquidos ascenderam aos 863 milhões de euros, o que compara com os 729 milhões de euros registados em período homólogo, segundo um comunicado da empresa. Os analistas consultados pela Bloomberg estimavam que os lucros da empresa recuassem para 663 milhões de euros.

As vendas da maior fabricante de telemóveis do mundo avançaram 17% para 7,4 mil milhões de euros, enquanto os analistas esperavam vendas de 7,2 mil milhões de euros.

Para 2005 prevê-se que a subida na venda global de telemóveis abrande, registando 730 milhões de unidades, face aos 674 milhões vendidos em 2004 e os 520 milhões registados em 2003. A 27 de Janeiro a empresa previu que o mercado crescesse 10% este ano.

A Nokia prevê lançar 40 novos equipamentos este ano para impulsionar a sua quota de mercado. A empresa adiantou que entre os novos telemóveis, 10 modelos serão de terceira geração (3G).

A fabricante adiantou que espera que os lucros do segundo trimestre variem entre 15 cêntimos e 18 cêntimos por acção, numa altura em que deverá registar vendas entre 7,9 mil milhões e 8,2 mil milhões de euros.

As acções da Nokia subiram um máximo de 5,17% em reacção aos resultados anunciados, e seguiam agora a ganhar 3,48% para os 12,20 euros, uma tendência registada pelo terceiro dia consecutivo.

Nokia's Profit Unexpectedly Rises 18%; Stock Jumps (Update3)
April 21 (Bloomberg) -- Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest mobile-phone maker, said first-quarter profit unexpectedly rose 18 percent as customers picked its high-end handsets with cameras and music players. The stock jumped as much as 5.9 percent.

Net income increased to 863 million euros ($1.13 billion), or 19 cents a share, from 729 million euros, or 16 cents, a year earlier, Espoo, Finland-based Nokia said in a Helsinki exchange statement today. Sales rose 17 percent to 7.4 billion euros.

Chief Executive Jorma Ollila aims to lift profit margins by slashing research and development spending, after focusing on regaining market share last year. Price cuts, higher marketing spending and new phones with cameras and music players helped Nokia take business from smaller rivals including Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd. and boost unit sales by 20 percent.

``It's great to see the company is back to a growth path, we've waited for this for a long time,'' said Ville Ahoranta, a fund manager at Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Co. in Helsinki, which oversees $6.5 billion, including Nokia stock. ``It took a year for them to get their phone portfolio in shape.''

Nokia was expected to earn 663 million euros, or 15 cents a share, on sales of 7.2 billion euros, according to the median estimate of 11 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. Nokia on Jan. 27 predicted first-quarter earnings of 12 cents to 15 cents on sales of 7 billion euros to 7.3 billion euros. First-quarter 2004 figures have been adjusted to conform with International Financial Reporting Standards that came into effect this year.

Shares of Nokia rose as much as 69 cents to 12.48 euros, and traded at 12.43 euros as of 12:10 p.m. in Helsinki.

Growth Forecast

Nokia predicted second-quarter earnings per share of 15 cents to 18 cents. Sales will probably be 7.9 billion euros to 8.2 billion euros, Nokia predicted. In the second quarter of last year, Nokia earned 15 cents on sales of 6.46 billion euros.

Nokia took market share in the last three quarters of 2004, reaching 33 percent in the final three months of the year from 30.9 percent in the previous quarter, Stamford, Connecticut-based researcher Gartner Inc. said. Schaumburg, Illinois-based Motorola Inc.'s share was 16.3 percent, while Samsung had 12.2 percent.

``I'm quite pleased with Nokia at the moment,'' said Carsten Hilck, a fund manager at Union Investment GmbH in Frankfurt, which oversees $6.5 billion including Nokia shares. ``There are more dynamics in Asia and personally I prefer Samsung.''

The Competition

Motorola yesterday said first-quarter profit rose 48 percent, beating analyst estimates, and its forecasts for profit and sales this quarter were also higher than expectations. Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung said April 15 that lower prices cut its telecommunications operating profit by 33 percent. Sony Ericsson, owned by Sony Corp. and Ericsson AB, said that day first-quarter profit fell 61 percent as price competition intensified.

Global mobile-phone sales in 2005 will exceed 730 million units from the 674 million units sold last year and the 520 million sold in 2003, Gartner forecasts. Still, growth is slowing as more and more people already own mobile phones.

Nokia raised its global handset market forecast to 15 percent growth to 740 million phones this year. Nokia on Jan. 27 predicted the market would grow 10 percent.

Nokia, which has a long-term target of 40 percent market share, has said it plans to introduce 40 new models this year to further bolster its market share. Ten of them will be so-called third-generation, or 3G, handsets, which allow faster data speeds and services such as videoconferencing.

High-End Devices

Demand for more expensive phones with cameras and music players helped Nokia lift sales at its Multimedia unit by 52 percent to 1.13 billion euros. Operating profit at the division was 155 million euros, after a loss a year earlier.

Sales at the unit making the simplest handsets, Nokia's largest, rose 11 percent to 4.53 billion euros as consumers in markets such as India and China snapped up its phones. The unit's operating profit fell 16 percent to 869 million euros.

Network unit sales rose 6 percent to 1.43 billion euros, and operating profit increased 44 percent to 221 million euros.

Nokia, whose revenue fell in 2002, 2003 and 2004, will this quarter start selling a handset costing about 750 euros to help regain market share in the high-end segment. The 8800 phone is encased in a stainless steel body and features a camera. It will also start selling the 6101 clamshell phone, which flips open, is customizable for operators and costs less than 250 euros.

Profitability Woes

While Nokia's sales growth and market share are increasing, the company is trying to uphold its profit margins amid intensifying competition and falling prices.

The company on Nov. 4 said it plans to cut research and development spending to between 9 percent and 10 percent of sales by the end of 2006, down from about 11.3 percent in the fourth quarter, to help lift profitability. Nokia on Jan. 11 said it plans to cut ``a few hundred'' jobs at the unit that makes camera and gaming phones.

Nokia on Nov. 4 said it targets an operating profit of 17 percent to 18 percent of sales for its mobile-phone units in the next two to three years. In the fourth quarter, the unit making the simplest handsets had an operating margin of 18.9 percent, while the camera and gaming phone unit had a margin of 13.2 percent. The unit making business handsets had an operating loss.

Before today, Nokia's shares had lost 7.7 percent in 12 months on concern competition and slowing growth in phone demand will keep weighing on prices and margins. Shares of Motorola, the No. 2 handset maker, have risen 2.8 percent in the same time, and Samsung Electronics Co., the No. 3, have lost 24 percent.

(To view Nokia's conference call at 3 p.m. Helsinki time, click on {LIVE <GO>}.)