Nokia disappointment hits Europe
Equipment makers fall; SAP hits earnings targets By Dave Shellock FT.com, 16:54 BST Apr 18, 2002
LONDON (FT Investor) - Disappointing earnings results and a gloomy outlook from Finnish mobile giant Nokia knocked back European markets on Thursday.
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But weakness in the technology and telecoms sectors was offset to some degree by gains for oil stocks as crude prices continued to rise, while banks were firm as investors sought safe havens.
Investors hoping for an upbeat assessment of future sales were left disappointed by the mobile phone maker, which makes one in three of the world's mobile phones.
Nokia 's growth forecast for the year of 4-9 per cent, down from the 15 per cent it saw in January, came a day after US chip giant Intel [INTC, News, Chart, Research] said customer spending remained weak and left markets a more subdued mood than earlier in the week.
The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 100 index [1883619, News, Chart] was down 0.7 per cent at 2,822.6, while the Xetra Dax index in Frankfurt [1876534, News, Chart] was 0.9 per cent lower in late trade.
The CAC 40 in Paris [1804546, News, Chart] finished 0.2 per cent lower and London's FTSE 100 [1805550, News, Chart] was down 0.7 per cent. See London markets report
On the new markets, the FTSE Techmark 100 [1859502, News, Chart] fell 2.1 per cent and the Nemax 50 [1809455, News, Chart] was 2 per cent down as it headed to the close.
Mobile depression
Nokia [000053994, News, Chart, Research] shed 9.7 per cent after it said pro-forma earnings per share came in at €0.19, slightly more than expected, although net sales decreased by 12 per cent in the period.
Nokia also lowered its forecast for full-year sales. JP Morgan was among the first to deliver its verdict, cutting Nokia to "market underperform" from "market outperform", and saying the company may need to grow in networks and software as mobile sales decline. See more on Nokia See Chris Nuttall on Europe's two mobile pillars shaken
Swedish rival Ericsson [000010865, News, Chart, Research] fell 7 per cent and Alcatel of France [013000, News, Chart, Research] eased 2.1 per cent. |
