On the heels of rumours that Nokia is looking for a new CEO, the company announced in Q2 2010 financial results. Profits plunged 40 percent to 227 million euros compared to the same quarter last year but it sold 111.1 million mobile phones (up 8 percent year over year), including 24 million smartphones (up 42 percent year over year). According to Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo:
“Despite facing continuing competitive challenges, we ended the second quarter with several reasons to be optimistic about our future. For one, the global handset market has continued to grow at a healthy pace, led by some of the less mature markets where Nokia is strong. We are also encouraged by the solid second quarter performance of our Mobile Phones business, helped by an improving line-up of affordable models.
In smartphones, we continue to renew our portfolio. We believe that the Nokia N8, the first of our Symbian^3 devices, will have a user experience superior to that of any smartphone Nokia has created. The Nokia N8 will be followed soon thereafter by further Symbian^3 smartphones that we are confident will give the platform broader appeal and reach, and kick-start Nokia’s fightback at the higher end of the market.”
While Kallasvuo remains optimistic, Nokia is also expecting that its mobile device sales will remain flat and that its market share will drop from its 2009 levels as the overall market continues to outgrow it.