Nokia is preparing to announce better-than-expected third quarter figures, according to stock market analysts at investment bank Nomura, and provide an upbeat forecast on its prospects for the fourth quarter.
"It increasingly seems that the depth of the Q2/Q3 margin squeeze was exaggerated by a greater-than-expected inventory correction," the Nomura analysts wrote in a note to clients, according to Reuters. One highly-rated analyst from the firm, Stuart Jeffrey, said: "Our checks suggest that this adjustment process is now complete and thus may allow management to guide more positively for Q4."
Nokia will announce its third-quarter earnings Oct. 20.
Nomura added that this improvement in Nokia's fortunes has been helped by the growing success of its dual-SIM products and an update to its low-end portfolio.
However, analysts remain worried that a decline in sales of Nokia's Symbian-based handsets will not be balanced by adequate sales of Windows Phone-based smartphones. The launch of Nokia's first handsets carrying the Microsoft platform is expected to coincide with its annual Nokia World trade show taking place in London at the end of this month. Deliveries are anticipated to start in November in time for the peak holiday-sales season.
Commenting on this forthcoming launch, as reported by Sharecast, Nomura's Jeffrey suggested: "We still see a high risk that growth in Windows Phone will not offset declines in Symbian. We believe that Windows Phone might struggle to establish itself at the high end and that a sub-$200 version might take another year or more to develop."
For more:
- see this Reuters article
- see this Sharecast article
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