Nokia just posted their Q1 2012 financial results [PDF document], and they’re about the most depressing figures we’ve ever covered for the Finnish handset maker. The company made 7.4 billion Euros ($9.7 billion) in net sales, which is exactly 3 billion Euros ($3.9 billion) less than they made during the same quarter a year ago. Regarding volumes, last week Nokia said they sold 71 million feature phones and 12 million smartphones. This week they’re saying they sold 70.8 million feature phones and 11.9 million smartphones. Where did those 300,000 units magically disappear? Anyway, Nokia is one of the few companies that breaks down device sales by territories. Which countries have had the biggest change in sales in terms of volume? Greater China is down 62%, North American is down 50%, and European is down 32%.
So did Nokia make any money at all during the quarter? No. They recorded a loss of 1.3 billion Euros. That number includes a 772 million Euro restructuring charge (read: the price companies pay to fire people) for Nokia Siemens Networks. If you take away all the one time charges, such as that massive NSN one, then losses hit 590 million Euros. Still pretty bleak.
What does Stephen Elop have to say about all this?
“We have launched four Lumia devices ahead of schedule to encouraging awards and popular acclaim. The actual sales results have been mixed. We exceeded expectations in markets including the United States, but establishing momentum in certain markets including the UK has been more challenging.”
When will things actually get better? Not for a while. Nokia is predicting that Q2 2012 is going to be just as bad as Q1 2012, and they’re not even talking about the rest of the year. Oddly enough, Nokia thinks that strengthening their Series 40 lineup will be what helps them get back into the black.
Expect to hear more about dumbphones over the next few months.
Update 01: Some interesting things from the press release: Nokia got another $250 million from Microsoft in the form of a “platform support payment”. There’s also call due to take place in a little over an hour. We’ll add any relevant information to this piece if it turns up.
Update 02: Two more press releases: 1) The Lumia 610 is now on sale in Asia. 2) Colin Giles, Executive Vice President of Sales and a member of the Nokia Leadership Team, will step down from his position.