X

Nokia posts $1.7B billion loss, though Lumia sales jumped

Analysts were expecting a loss of $784 million in the second quarter. Shipments of 4 million Lumia smartphones did not save the day, though investors reacted with enthusiasm.

Charlie Osborne Contributing Writer
Charlie Osborne is a cybersecurity journalist and photographer who writes for ZDNet and CNET from London. PGP Key: AF40821B.
Charlie Osborne
2 min read
Nokia Lumia 900
Nokia Lumia 900 Josh Miller/CNET

The beleaguered phone maker Nokia reported today a $1.7 billion (1.4 billion euro) net loss on $9.23 billion in net sales in the second quarter.

Analysts expected a loss of 641.1 million euros ($784 million) on revenue of 7.53 billion euros ($9.27 billion). Nokia reported net sales of 7.5 billion euros ($9.23 billion), up from 7.4 billion euros ($9.11 billion) in the first quarter.

Analysts predicted that the Lumia model would sell about 4 million units, and the financial results have confirmed this. Despite the gloomy financial report, Nokia shares jumped 12 percent on the Lumia-sales news.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop commented on the results:

Nokia is taking action to manage through this transition period. While Q2 was a difficult quarter, Nokia employees are demonstrating their determination to strengthen our competitiveness, improve our operating model and carefully manage our financial resources.

We shipped four million Lumia Smartphones in Q2, and we plan to provide updates to current Lumia products over time, well beyond the launch of Windows Phone 8.

We believe the Windows Phone 8 launch will be an important catalyst for Lumia. During the quarter, we demonstrated stability in our feature phone business, and enhanced our competitiveness with the introduction of our first full touch Asha devices.

The company's statement said that while "Q3 will remain difficult, it is a critical priority to return our Devices & Services business to positive operating cash flow as quickly as possible."

Updated at 9:06 a.m. PT: Added market reaction, clarified analyst expectations and changed focus to net loss from operating.