Nokia to cut 1,800 jobs after strong Q3

HELSINKI, FINLAND: Nokia reported stronger-than-expected profits for the third quarter, boosted by strong demand for its cheap smartphones, and said on Thursday it would cut up to 1,800 jobs.

The Finland-based company swung to a net profit of €529 million ($737.9 million) during the quarter ended September 30 from a €559 million loss a year earlier, when the result was hit by heavy impairment charges. The revenue rose 4.7% to €10.27 billion.

Nokia's third-quarter underlying earnings per share dropped to 0.14 euros from 0.18 euros a year ago, but beat all forecasts which ranged between 0.08 to 0.12 euro in a Reuters poll of 36 analysts.

The strong numbers sent Nokia shares 8.4 per cent higher by 1033 GMT.

On September 21, Canadian Stephen Elop took over at the helm of Nokia from Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who presided over a halving in Nokia's market value during his four years in charge.