Nokia could be edging its way back to a dominant position in the smartphone market after the Finnish smartphone manufacturer reported a 27 per cent rise in sales of Nokia Lumia handsets.
Despite strong competition from smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5, Nokia Lumia handsets like the Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 620 shipped over 5.6 million units in the first quarter of this year. Nokia has predicted that such shipments will rise to over 7 million by the end of the June quarter.
Still some way behind the sales figures estimated to be reached by Samsung and Apple, who are predicted to ship 62 million and 37 million units respectively, such figures from Nokia would mean it is beginning to re-establish its position as a strong contender in the smartphone market.
However, despite such strong sales forecasts, some analysts are still doubtful that Nokia can achieve such promising figures.
“We struggle to understand how this number is possible without either the beginning of consumer traction, or a massive channel inventory stuffing,” said Pierre Ferragu from Bernstein Research.
Although Nokia Lumia sales are strong, Nokia’s overall revenues still fell 27 per cent from the previous quarter due to a faster than expected drop in demand for basic entry-level handsets.
Consumers are opting to fork out for high-end fully-equipped smartphones like the HTC One or Sony Xperia Z rather than budget handsets provided by Nokia outside the Lumia range.
Overall, the Finnish company sold 62 million handsets, 10 million down from the 72 million predicted. Revenues were forecast to be around the €6.5 million mark, but in reality achieved €5.85 billion.
“We remain focused on moving through our transition, which includes continuing to improve our product competitiveness, accelerate the way we operate and manage our costs effectively,” said Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop.
Via: Guardian
