Nokia slashes sales as handset woe worsens

NEWS Mobile phone giant Nokia has cut its sales forecast as the parlous state of the handset market continues to leave manufacturers struggling. This is the fifth time this year Nokia has slashed its predictions - this time warning that sales are likely to be between E7.1bn and E7.4bn for the quarter ending 30 September. Previously it was predicting sales for the period of between E7.2bn and E7.6bn. However, the Finnish giant may take some solace from the fact the lower end of its new scale is still in excess of revenues raised during the comparable period last year when it recorded sales of E7.05bn. This line of thinking carried little sway on the markets however. Nokia's shares fell by almost two per cent within minutes of the announcement.