iSuppli issues fast facts on Nokia’s quarterly earnings

EL SEGUNDO, USA: To support media coverage of Nokia’s first-quarter results, iSuppli Corp. is issuing the following fast facts:

* The global cell-phone market in the first quarter is likely to be somewhat stronger than expected. Initial reports from wireless component suppliers suggest that global shipments in the first quarter of 2010 will vary only slightly compared to the fourth quarter of 2009, defying the normal seasonal slowdown that typically occurs during the first three months of the year.

* Global mobile handset shipments in the first quarter of 2010 soared compared to the same period in 2009 when the wireless communications market was mired in the global economic downturn.

* Nokia in the first quarter is expected to maintain its position as the world’s leading cell-phone brand. The company in the fourth quarter of 2009 held 37.9 percent share of global unit shipments of cell phones.

* The company us also expected to retain its leadership in the smartphone segment.

* “Facing severe competition from slick rivals, including the iPhone and Google Android-based models, Nokia’s leadership position in the global smart-phone market began to erode starting in the second quarter of 2008,” said Tina Teng, senior wireless communications analyst or iSuppli.

“By the third quarter of 2009, Nokia’s share of shipments had declined to 34.5 percent, down from a recent high of 41 percent in the first quarter of 2008. However, by the fourth quarter of 2009, Nokia’s share of smart phone shipments recovered to nearly 40 percent, at 38.7 percent.”