Nokia Doubles Its Fourth-Quarter ProfitNokia Doubles Its Fourth-Quarter Profit

HELSINKI, Finland (AP) -- Nokia Corp., the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, said Thursday its fourth-quarter profits more than doubled from results depressed by charges a year ago, but warned that sales for the first quarter would be hurt by a softer market.

The company earned 1.04 billion euros ($1.10 billion) in the last three months of 2002, up from 450 million euros in the same period in 2001. The 2001 results included 736 million euros ($789.8 million) in restructuring costs, write-downs, and goodwill.

Nokia's fourth-quarter sales rose by 1% to 8.84 billion euros ($9.4 billion) in the quarter from 8.79 billion euros a year earlier.

In trading on the Helsinki stock exchange, shares of the company fell 0.8% to 14.14 euros ($15.17).

For the year, Nokia earned 3.38 billion euros ($3.57 billion) compared with 2.20 billion euros a year earlier.

Annual revenue fell 4% to 30 billion euros ($32.2 billion) from 31.1 billion euros in 2001. The decline reflected weaker sales in the Americas, partially offset by strong growth in Europe and in the Pacific Rim.

Sales of its mobile phones edged up to 23.2 billion euros ($24.8 billion), slightly higher than the 23.1 billion euros in 2001. The company reported "good growth" in Europe and Asia, but a drop in the Americas.

Its unit volume reached a record 152 million units, an increase of 9% compared to 2001. It also posted its largest-ever quarterly volume of 46 million units sold during the fourth quarter.

Nokia said overall mobile phone market volumes reaching about 405 million units in 2002, a gain of 5% from around 380 million units in 2001.

The company said its market share rose for a fifth straight year, reaching 38%, just two points shy of its goal of 40%.

Nokia introduced several new models during 2002, many featuring color screens and a host of features, including cameras, advanced messaging, and gaming. But it faces competition from other rivals, including Sweden's Sony Ericsson and the United States' Motorola Inc., which is starting to match pace with Nokia's North American sales.

Nokia chief executive Jorma Ollila said Thursday that the company expects a "slow start" in the sales of handsets, largely because of an industrywide buildup.

At a news conference Thursday, he said the world's economies were "in a very slow growth state" and said that seemed to be "affecting the way the year will start."

Nokia didn't offer exact guidance for first quarter sales, but said they would be lower than the zero to 9% forecast for its handsets.

Speaking to CNBC Europe, he said the company is forecasting sales growth of its mobile phone handsets to about 9% year on year.

The company's networks unit reported sales growth of 6% to 2.1 billion euros ($2.3 billion), including 370 million euros ($397 million) in revenue from new generation systems. That was due in part to increased use in the United States, but was dampened by weakened sales in China.

Europe and Asia saw increased growth of about 8%, in part because of increased demand for the array of color phones, fast connections, and third-generation services widely available there. Demand in the Americas also increased, rising by 4%.

Nokia said it would buy back some of its stock during 2003, in part to lower its 8.8 billion euro ($9.4 billion) cash reserves. The company didn't say how many shares it would buy back.

Nokia, based in Espoo, just outside the Finnish capital, has sales in 130 countries with some 53,000 employees.