Tuesday, December 4,2007 @ 8:50pm
Nokia looks to gain marketshare, stock drops
Nokia today hosted its annual investor day, and announced that it is raising its operating margin forecasts, while seeking to gain market share in mobile devices. Shares dropped 3.3-percent on the NYSE, as investors deemed Nokia's 16- to 17-percent group operating margin too conservative, leaving the company to finish at $38.92 per share. CEO Olli Pekka Kallasvuo continue on to the mobile division, pointing out the potential operating margin at 20-percent within two years, and 10-percent for its Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture by the end of 2009.
Nokia's shares are up 76-percent, year to date, while most competitors have stumbled in this regard, and says that the company's third-quarter market share sits at 39-percent, with expectations that this will increase based on a potential 15-percent growth in emerging markets. Nokia predicts that the industry will ship 10-percent more handsets in the coming year, with sales forecasts reaching 1.1 billion units.
Announced earlier in the day was Nokia's Comes With Music service, saying it had signed a deal with music giant Universal, whose artists include U2, and Amy Winehouse. Nokia plans for customers to be able to buy a phone and then have unlimited access to Universal's music collection for an entire year, the cost of which will be subsidized with the cost of the phone.