Nokia Corp. (W 1000/61), which until recently was the world's biggest mobile-phone maker, reported a much worse-than-expected second-quarter loss Thursday as it presses on with a massive restructuring of its faltering business.
The Finnish company's CEO, Stephen Elop, acknowledged in the company's earnings statement that the April-June period was "a difficult quarter."
In the second quarter, Nokia posted a net loss of 1.41 billion euros ($1.74 billion), about four times its loss of 368 million euros during the same period a year earlier and more than double the loss anticipated by analysts.
Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had expected Nokia to post a net loss of just 654 million euros for the quarter.
While the company also suffered a 19% plunge in sales to 7.54 billion euros, it did beat analyst expectations that it would rake in 7.24 billion.
Nokia, which recently lost its ranking of 14 years as the world's biggest mobile-phone maker, dramatically changed its strategy a year and a half ago when Elop warned that it was "standing on a burning platform" and needed to immediately shift course.
The Finnish company's new strategy involves phasing out its Symbian smartphones in favor of a partnership with Microsoft.
That alliance has produced a first line of Lumia smartphones, which Nokia is counting on to help it survive in a rapidly changing landscape marked by stiff competition from RiM's Blackberry, Apple's iPhone and handsets running Google's Android platform.
"We are executing with urgency on our restructuring program," Elop said Thursday.
While the company is struggling, it still has a strong cash position, and although a dividends payment sent its net cash holdings down compared with the first quarter to 4.2 billion euros, Nokia emphasized it has more available money than a year ago.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012
