Nokia Q2 outlook weakens

During a mid-quarter conference call, Nokia announced it now sees second-quarter net sales declining by between 2% and 6%, compared with earlier guidance of between 2% and 7% on year-over-year growth.

Nokia CFO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo attributed the company's revised Q2 update to an infrastructure slowdown and lower handset sales during April and May.

Sales for Nokia's mobile phone unit are expected to grow between 0% and 4% year over year instead of the previously anticipated range of 5% and 10%. Nokia Networks sales are expected to decrease by between 20% and 25%, compared with earlier guidance of a decrease of between 5% and 10% year over year.

Still as far as mobile phones are concerned, Nokia expects its market share for the second quarter could increase by 38% during the quarter, with year-over-year volume growth exceeding 10%. Pro forma operating margins for the mobile phone unit are expected to be above 20%, while sales for Nokia Networks could dip lower than estimated because of fewer investments by operator customers, Kallasvuo said.

--Kelly Carroll, Staff Writer