Shares in troubled Finnish phone maker Nokia have slumped to their lowest level for 16 years following yet another withering profit warning. A slump in smartphone sales and weakening margins mean up to 10,000 jobs will be shed. With little prospect of an improvement in its prospects, we are sticking to our sell recommendation on Nokia's shares.
Nokia's market share continues to be taken by Apple and Samsung in particular and chief executive Stephen Elop has now slashed 24,000 jobs since his appointment in 2010. Yet Nokia’s attempts to fight back in smartphones, through the Lumia range, have been disappointing. Competitive pressure is prompting the latest round of cost savings; margins in the loss-making smartphones division for the half year are likely to be worse than the -3 per cent recorded in the first quarter.
