July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Nokia’s brief flirtation with profit last quarter (following six quarters of losses) was bound to end — we just didn’t think it would be this soon.

The Finnish company posted an operating loss of €150 million (PDF), or around $196 million, today on around $7.65 billion in revenue. But aside from that brief setback, things are actually looking pretty good for Nokia, with record-high sales of its flagship Lumia smartphone line (5.6 million) and a rise in cash and liquid assets (up to $5.85 billion from $5.69 billion).

Sales of Nokia’s Lumia phone, which is also Microsoft’s flagship Windows Phone, rose 27 percent from the last quarter to reach a new record high. It’s a good sign for growth from last quarter’s 4.4 million Lumia sales. Outside of the Lumia, Nokia’s mobile phone sales fell 31 percent from last quarter, while “Smart Devices” sales fell 32 percent (that includes the company’s other smartphones, which nobody wants).

In North America, Nokia shipped 400,000 devices, compared to 700,000 devices last quarter. That’s even after Nokia spent considerable effort building up its presence in the U.S. over the past few years. Carriers are clearly more aware of Nokia’s devices (before they didn’t even offer them on contract), but the real target for Nokia is the elusive American consumer.

During the company’s earnings call today, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop (above), hinted the company would be launching a new Lumia device later quarter on a U.S. carrier. Judging from the rumors we’ve heard so far, he’s likely referring to the Lumia “Catwalk,” which is expected to have a metal case and serve as Verizon’s flagship Windows Phone.

Photo:  Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

For the first time in a long while, Nokia is no longer reporting a massive operating loss in its quarterly earnings. The former phone giant reported fourth quarter revenues of $10.7 billion with a $585 million operating profit — mostly due to slightly stronger Windows Phone sales, as well as a variety of layoffs and cost-cutting measures.

It’s not much, but it’s a significant step beyond Nokia’s last quarterly operating loss of $754 million. The company reported earnings per share of 8 cents, slightly beating analyst expectations of 6 cents.

Nokia sold 4.4 million Lumia Windows Phones, a notable bump from last quarter’s 2.9 million Lumias. Overall, Nokia sold 6.6 million smartphones, down 66 percent from last year’s 19.6 million smartphones. Smartphones sales look a bit better if you include the company’s low-end Asha devices, which sold 9.3 million units during the quarter. The Lumia is definitely at the core of Nokia’s future, but Asha will remain a significant component as well.

The company also confirmed today that the 808 PureView, its crazy 42-megapixel camera phone, will be the last official Symbian device. Nokia only sold 2.2 million Symbian smartphones during the quarter. The PureView’s revolutionary camera technology is rumored to make its way to Lumia phones this year, after first debuting at Mobile World Congress a year ago.

Nokia has also aggressively cut costs over the past year, including laying off 10,000 workers, selling off (and leasing back) its headquarters, and dumping its ridiculous Vertu luxury phone brand.

Today’s Nokia looks far different from the titan that ruled the cellphone market for years — a good example of how quickly fates can change in the technology world. Nokia must certainly be humbled from being so royally beaten by iPhone and Android, but as we’re seeing from continued Lumia advancements and intriguing technology like the PureView camera, it’s not going down quietly.