Nokia announces Q2 2008 profits, market share at 40%

Today Nokia posted its financials for Q2, 2008. It reported a net operating profit of EUR 1.474 billion for Q2 2008 versus a EUR 2.359 billion figure for Q2, 2007. Q2 of last year included special items related to the acquisition of Nokia Siemens Networks. When those amounts are removed, the Q2 2007 profit number is EUR 1.393 billion, showing that the company's profits are indeed up. The Q2 2008 figures equate to a diluted earnings per share of EUR 0.36, when special items are excluded.

The company reported an increase of 4% in net sales versus Q2 2007, as well as a 4% increase in net sales when compared with the Q1 2008. Nokia also said that its world market share is up to 40% versus 38% for the same quarter last year and 39% for Q1 of 2008.

Nokia also provided its forecasts for the next quarter, which it thinks will be better than some had expected. Previously it had predicted a 10% gain in industry-wide cell phone sales for 2008 versus 2007, but now it believes that the increase will be 10% "or more."

Nokia provided handset volume figures for various parts of the world. These figures show that the company's presence in Latin America is growing at a significant rate: 39.1% year over year and 28.6% quarter over quarter growth. It is also interesting to note that the company's growth in North America, year over year, is relatively small at only 9.8% - roughly matching Nokia's prediction for the industry wide market growth.