Nokia Sells 1m Windows Phones But Still Reports Q4 Losses

Nokia says it has sold more than one million Lumia handsets so far, but sales of the Windows Phone-powered devices were not enough to offset substantial fourth quarter (Q4) losses.

The results also revealed that Microsoft paid Nokia a €180 million (£151m) ‘quarterly support payment’, which amounts to £151 per phone sold.

Year of transition

Nokia reported a loss of €1.07 billion (£897bn), compared with profits of €745 million (£625m) during the same period last year, while net revenue also tumbled from €12.6 billion (£10.56bn) to €10 billion (£8.38bn), with sales of smartphones dropping by 23 percent. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said that he expects 2012 to be a transitional year for the company.

“To date we have sold well over one million Lumia devices,” claimed Elop. “From this beachhead of more than one million Lumia devices, you will see us push forward with the sales, marketing and successive product introductions necessary to be successful”

“While we progressed in the right direction in 2011, we still have a tremendous amount to accomplish in 2012, and thus, it is my assessment that we are in the heart of our transition,” he added. “In summary, with a strong balance sheet, our performance in mobile phones and the new excitement around Lumia, we are confident that we are on the right track to build long-term value.”

Research released earlier this week suggested that Nokia may have shipped 1.3 million Windows Phone devices, but it was not known how many were sold so far. The first Nokia Windows Phone devices, the Lumia 710 and 800 were released last year and were the first products of a strategic partnership agreed between the Finnish manufacturer and Microsoft.

A third device, the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) Nokia Lumia 900, was formally unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month after months of speculation and image leaks.

Nokia is still the biggest mobile manufacturer in the world by volume but it has seen its share the smartphone market erode in recent years as a result of increased competition from devices running rival operating systems such as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.