By TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) -NOKIA, which has seen its market share slump in recent years, expects a difficult last three months of the year.
Formerly the leading cellphone maker, Nokia is emerging from a disappointing third quarter of the year, which saw a slump in net sales.

Stephen Elop, Nokia CEO, forecasts the next three months to be equally difficult.
“Nokia expects the fourth quarter 2012 to be a challenging quarter in Smart Devices, with a lower-than-normal benefit from seasonality in volumes, primarily due to product transitions and our ramp up plan for our new devices,” said Elop.

Nokia Group’s net sales in the last quarter were EUR 7.2 billion, down from 7.5 billion in the previous three months.
“As we expected, Q3 was a difficult quarter in our Devices & Services business; however, we are pleased that we shifted Nokia Group to operating profitability on a non-IFRS basis,” Elop said.

Meanwhile, Nokia and, Nokia Siemens Networks to continue its remarkable performance, which saw the entity achieve record profitability on a non-IFRS basis in the last quarter.
The Nokia Siemens Networks cash balance increased for the fourth quarter in a row.
Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks expect Nokia Siemens Networks non-IFRS operating margin in the fourth quarter 2012 to be approximately positive 8 percent.

“This outlook is based on our expectations regarding a number of factors, including competitive industry dynamics, seasonal variations in customer  demand for Nokia Siemens Networks' equipment and services, regional and product mix, expected continued improvement under Nokia Siemens Networks' restructuring program and the macroeconomic environment,” Nokia stated.