Nokia Q3 report: Lumia sales reach a new high of 8.8 million units

Nokia has just released its Q3 2013 financial results as of September 30. The report shows that in the third quarter of this year:

- Net sales reached $7.79 billion, a 21% decrease year-over-year.

- Operating profit was $162 million compared to an operating loss of $776 million in the same period last year.

- Net loss was $125 million, significantly reduced from a net loss of $1.33 billion in the same period last year.

In the third quarter, Lumia smartphone sales hit a record high of 8.8 million units. This number was 7.4 million in the previous quarter (which had already set a historical record), and only 2.9 million in the same period last year.

Notably, the record-high Lumia sales in Q3 2013 were largely driven by the success of the Lumia 520.

From the release of the first Nokia WP phone (Lumia 800) in November 2011 to September 30, 2013, Nokia sold a total of 36.1 million Lumia phones.

(Lumia sales figures for North America and regions outside North America)

Efforts made by Nokia in the North American market have also paid off, with Lumia sales in the region reaching a record high of 1.4 million units in the third quarter of this year, representing a year-over-year increase of 366%, and nearly tripling the 0.5 million units sold in the previous quarter.

The average selling price of Lumia phones in the third quarter was €143, a 7% decrease year-over-year, mainly due to the large-scale market entry of low-end WP phones, which lowered the average selling price. Research company Adduplex claims that the affordable Lumia 520 is the world's most popular WP phone, accounting for 23% of all WP phones.

Additionally, in the third quarter, Nokia's non-WP phone sales were 55.8 million units, down 27% year-over-year but up 4% quarter-over-quarter. Of these non-WP phone sales, 10% were Asha phones.

Here are the performance details of Nokia's three major businesses in the third quarter:

- Net sales for Devices & Services were $3.99 billion, down 19% year-over-year. According to IFRS standards, the operating loss was $118 million, compared to an operating loss of $930 million in the same period last year.

- Net sales for Here business were $290 million, down 20% year-over-year. According to IFRS standards, the operating profit was $19.275 million, compared to an operating loss of $77.1 million in the same period last year.

- Net sales for Solutions & Networks (NSN) were $3.58 billion, down 26% year-over-year. According to IFRS standards, the operating profit was $229 million, down 9% from $252 million in the same period last year.

In September, Microsoft announced it would acquire Nokia's Devices & Services division for nearly $7.2 billion (including patent licensing fees). This deal will be voted on by Nokia shareholders in November. If all goes smoothly, the transaction will be completed early next year. Afterward, Lumia smartphones will no longer appear on Nokia's financial statements.

Recently, Nokia has launched several new products, including the tablet Lumia 2520, the phablet Lumia 1520, and the Lumia 1320. These three devices will all be available before the end of the year and are expected to boost Nokia’s device performance in the fourth quarter.

Illustration courtesy of theverge.