Nokia warns of sliding market share
Last Updated: Friday, September 5, 2008 | 9:39 AM ET
The Associated Press
Nokia Corp. warned Friday its third-quarter global market share will decline from second-quarter levels, sending its U.S. shares tumbling more than 11 per cent in pre-market electronic trading.
Nokia gave no figures, but in July had predicted that "its mobile device market share in the third quarter of 2008 would be approximately at the same level sequentially" as the second quarter.
In U.S. pre-market trading, shares fell $2.51 US, or 11.3 per cent, to $19.80, having closed Thursday at $22.31.
Shares have declined steadily since reaching a 52-week high of $42.22 last November.
The world's largest handset maker said it will continue to target an increase in "its market share in mobile devices for the full year 2008."
"Nokia expects the overall mobile device market in 2008 to be impacted by the weaker consumer confidence in multiple markets," the company said.
"However, Nokia continues to expect industry mobile device volumes in 2008 to grow 10 per cent or more from the approximately 1.14 billion units Nokia estimated for 2007."
Last year, Nokia sold nearly 440 million handsets accounting for 40 per cent of all global cellphone sales.
The company is based in Espoo, near the Finnish capital, and employs 116,000 people worldwide.
