Nokia
Nokia, the world’s largest mobile-phone maker, reported better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter in its handset division.

Finnish handset maker bolstered its share of the mobile-phone market to 37 percent last year from 32 percent a year earlier. However, the company expects first-quarter sales for 2002 to decline as much as 10 percent from the same quarter last year. In the second quarter it said it expected growth of over 10 percent, rising higher in the second half of the year.

Operating profit from the mobile phone division rose 2 percent to 1.48-billion euros, as sales remained the same at 6.7-billion euros.

"We achieved significant market share gains, maintaining excellent profitability in our mobile phone business," said Nokia’s CEO Jorma Ollila.

Nokia expects the industry to sell between 420 million to 440 million handsets this year, as consumers replace existing phones with those that allow faster access to the Internet.

Motorola
The second-largest handset maker Motorola reported that it had 17 percent of the worldwide handset market in the last quarter of 2001, up two percentage points, and maintained its leading market share in China.

Although Motorola handset sales were down overall, sales figures were up very significantly in the fourth quarter, said Mike Zafirovski, Motorola’s president of the Personal Communications sector.

The handset division reported sales of $3.0-billion, down 14 percent from a year earlier. The unit’s operating profit, excluding special items, at $189-million, was up from $83-million last year.

Motorola’s chairman and CEO Christopher Galvin said, "While we expect to incur losses in the first and second quarters of 2002, we expect to return to profitability in the second half of the year and be profitable for the full year, barring any unforeseen political or economic disruptions."

Motorola predicts industry handset shipments in 2002 will be around 420 million units. However, if the global market improves during the second half of 2002, totals could be higher, the company said.

Ericsson
The third largest handset maker Ericsson reported selling approximately 390 million handsets in 2001, close to its forecasted 400 million. In 2002, the company anticipates a 10 percent increase, driven by increased availability of replacement phones with GPRS, Bluetooth, color screens and multi-media messaging.

The company’s new joint venture, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, sold 6.8 million phones, generating sales of 9.7-billion Swedish crowns. The lower unit volume and higher average sales price reflect a product strategy that primarily focuses on high-end models, resulting in lower volumes, the company said. However, the Swedish company believes that doors will open for the new joint venture as the market for mobile multi-media products continues to develop.

We are now in a much stronger position to capitalize on market opportunities and restore profitability in 2002. Although the market will be particularly challenging in the beginning of 2002, we maintain our objective of over 5 percent operating margin for the full year, said