They Nailed It ...
.... and despite a mix driven €89 ASP (€2 below consensus) they beat expectations for Unit Sales, Share, Profitability, EPS, Revenue, Gross Margin, and Op Margins for all 4 divisions.
They sure know how to execute in Q4.
EPS = €0.32 (€0.30 excluding special items) v.€0.28 consensus.
The combination of Mobile Phones and Multimedia divisions had an operating margin of 17.3%.
Nokia shipped 106 million phones in the quarter, up by 19% on a sequential basis and by 26% YoY.
Strategy Analytics has Nokia at 35.2% share of 299.6 million units for the quarter, 34.1% of 1.019 Billion units for 2006, v. Moto at 21.9%/21.3%. There's no joy in Schaumburg today.
>> Nokia Nails Quarter
TheStreet
1/25/2007
tinyurl.com
Nokia (NOK) blew away fourth-quarter estimates even as wireless phone prices continue to plunge.
The Helsinki-based handset giant made $1.65 billion, or 42 cents a share, for the fourth quarter, as sales rose 13% from a year ago to $15.2 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for a 34-cent profit on sales of $14.6 billion.
The combined mobile device volume of Nokia's Mobile Phones, Multimedia and Enterprise Solutions business groups for the fourth quarter 2006 was a record 106 million units, up 19% sequentially and 26% year on year.
Nokia's estimated market share for the fourth quarter 2006 was 36%, flat sequentially and up from 34% in the fourth quarter 2005. On a sequential basis, Nokia gained market share in Europe. This gain was offset by market share declines in Latin America, North America and Asia-Pacific, while market share in China and Middle East & Africa remained virtually unchanged sequentially. On a year on year basis, Nokia gained market share in every area except North America in the fourth quarter 2006.
The average selling price of Nokia's mobile devices fell to 89 euros from 93 euros in the third quarter and 99 euros a year ago. Nokia said its ASP was hit by a lower percentage of sales from higher end products, specifically in multimedia business group, that more than offset the relatively stable ASPs in entry-level product sales. The year on year decline in our ASP was driven primarily by the strong growth of the emerging markets, which have lower ASPs, and the growth of Nokia's market share in those markets, "in addition to which certain higher-end products in our portfolio were not viewed as sufficiently competitive in various markets," Nokia said.
The news comes as rival Motorola (MOT) plans job cuts to regain competitiveness following a fourth-quarter earnings disappointment predicated in part on lower mobile phone pricing.
"We achieved record device volumes, net sales and EPS for both the fourth quarter and full year 2006," said CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. "Also, on a sequential basis profitability improved significantly, with gross margins for the quarter up in all Nokia business groups.
"Nokia was able to increase its share of the global device market significantly in 2006 to an estimated 36%, clearly solidifying our number one position in the industry. We achieved this result through the strengths of Nokia's world class brand, products, cost structure and efficiency, without sacrificing our operating margins or cash flow."
Nokia said it expects industry mobile device volumes in 2007 to grow by up to 10% from the approximately 978 million units Nokia estimates for 2006. It expects some decline in industry average selling prices, primarily reflecting the increasing impact of the emerging markets and competitive factors in general. ###
>> Nokia's Profit Jumps 19% on Emerging Markets Push
Juho Erkheikki
Bloomberg
January 25, 2006
tinyurl.com
Nokia Oyj, the world's largest maker of mobile phones, said fourth-quarter profit jumped 19 percent, beating analysts' estimates, as a push into emerging markets drove handset sales to a record.
Net income rose to 1.27 billion euros ($1.65 billion), or 32 cents a share, from 1.07 billion euros, from 25 cents, a year earlier, the Espoo, Finland-based company said today in a statement. Revenue rose 13 percent to 11.7 billion euros.
Nokia's shares had their biggest gain in three years after Chief Executive Officer Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said the company's market share rose to 36 percent on higher sales of cheaper phones in China, India and Latin America. U.S. competitor Motorola Inc. said last week that fourth-quarter profit plunged 48 percent.
``It's a relief rally,'' said Niklas Lund, a fund manager at Aalandsbanken Asset Management in Helsinki, which oversees $1 billion of assets, including Nokia shares. ``It's the best stock to own in the industry.''
Ten analysts in a Bloomberg News survey had predicted net income of 1.11 billion euros, or 28 cents a share, and revenue of 11.6 billion euros. Nokia had a tax gain of 84 million euros and a 39 million-euro cost related to its network venture. Excluding one-time effects, earnings per share rose to 30 cents, it said.
Shares of Nokia jumped as much as 6.7 percent to 16.53 euros, and traded at 16.46 euros as of 12:57 p.m. in Helsinki. Before today, the shares had gained 4.1 percent in the past year. That compares with a 21 percent increase in the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index of Europe's biggest companies.
Motorola Battle
Kallasvuo, 53, forecasts there will be 4 billion mobile users by 2010 and that growth will come from emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region. India is adding more than 6 million subscribers a month, while China is adding 5 million users.
Motorola, the world's second-largest mobile-phone maker, on Jan. 19 announced plans to cut 3,500 jobs, or about 5 percent of the workforce, to help trim costs by $400 million.
Shares of Schaumburg, Illinois-based Motorola fell the most in more than four years on Jan. 5 after the company said sales and profit would miss analysts' estimates as it slashed prices to compete with Nokia and Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co., the world's third-largest mobile-phone maker.
Samsung on Jan. 12 said fourth-quarter profit dropped, partly because it cut handset prices. Earnings at the telecommunications unit missed analysts' estimates.
Smaller rival Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd., which focuses on high-end phones, last week said profit tripled on demand for phones with music players and cameras.
Average Prices Slip
Both Nokia and Motorola introduced new models in January designed to win market share from each other. Meanwhile, Sony Ericsson has capitalized on the Walkman and Cybershot camera brands to win customers.
Nokia shipped a record 106 million units during the quarter, up 26 percent from a year earlier and 19 percent sequentially. Nokia said its fourth-quarter market share was unchanged from 36 percent in the third quarter and gained from 34 percent a year earlier, led by gains in all regions except North America.
The average price of a Nokia phone fell to 89 euros in the fourth quarter from 93 euros in the previous quarter, Nokia said. That missed the average estimate of 91 euros in a Bloomberg survey. ###
>> Global Cellphone Sales Race Past 1 Bln Mark
Reuters (Amsterdam)
January 25, 2006
tinyurl.com
Global sales of mobile phones totaled a record 1.02 billion units in 2006, an increase of 25 percent over 2005, and 299.6 million units in the fourth quarter, a survey found on Thursday.
Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile , Research) improved its position as the No. 1 handset vendor in the fourth quarter with a 35.2 percent market share, compared with 34.3 percent in the third quarter and 34.1 percent in the year-ago period, market research group Strategy Analytics said in its quarterly survey.
Motorola (MOT.N:) improved its market share to 21.9 percent from 20.8 percent in the third quarter and 18.2 percent a year ago. Samsung Electronics, as the No. 3, lost ground. ###
- Eric - |
