Nokia drives Q2 sales up 55 per cent

NEWS Nokia posted a healthy 62 per cent rise in second quarter profit but share price fell sharply yesterday after the company warned that third quarter results would not be as strong. Nokia said that it expected third quarter results to be adversely affected by the launch of new products during that period. Nokia shares had fallen 21 per cent on the Helsinki market by the close of trading yesterday. Pre-tax profit for the quarter was E1.42bn (£881m), slightly up on analyst forecasts of E1.40bn (£869m). Sales rose 55 per cent to E6.98bn (£4.33bn). Net profit stands at E951m (£590m) compared with E581m (£360m) a year ago. Earnings per share rose to E0.20 (12p), from E0.13 (8p) in the year ago period.