Nokia, the mobile phone manufacturer which has dominated the market for the last ten years, before losing its “crown” to the South Koreans from Samsung, started to recover from the downturn, as the company’s shares last week have recorded the highest growth in the last 20 years. Nokia shares rose on the Helsinki stock exchange last week by 51%, the largest increase since 1992. This increase is attributed to the good results recorded by Lumia mobile phones.
Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, bet on the Lumia, which is powered by Microsoft operating system in the battle with Apple and Google Android. Nokia has announced that sales of Lumia smartphones have increased in the second quarter to 4 million units, compared to 2 million in the first quarter.
“Perhaps Nokia is beginning to return to profit,” said Jean-Michel Salvador, an analyst at AlphaValue in Paris. Nokia sales could rise further after the release of Windows 8 later this year, in October. In addition to the operating system for users of tablets and PCs, Microsoft will release a mobile version called Windows Phone 8.
In other news, the Chinese group Lenovo, the second largest supplier of personal computers in the world, denied market speculation claiming that it is interested in purchasing the Finnish company.
On June 14, Nokia announced its plans to eliminate another 10,000 jobs globally by the end of 2013 and after giving up certain research projects developed, will close plants in Ulm (Germany), Burnaby (Canada ) and Salo (Finland). Nokia also confirmed that it agreed to the sale of its division Vertu of luxury phones to European investment fund EQT VI, without specifying the value of the transaction. Nokia will retain a 10% stake in Vertu, a company founded in 1998 to produce luxury mobile phones and accessories. Last year Nokia has decided to close the factory in Romania, after it invested €60 million in this plant opened in 2008.
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