Buzz gets louder

Helsinki, Sept. 13 (Reuters): Nokia has raised its third-quarter sales and profit forecasts, saying demand was strong and average sale prices for its handsets were holding up better than it had expected.

Nokia said it now expected third-quarter net sales to be 8.4 billion euros to 8.5 billion euros, compared with its previous projection of 7.9 billion euros to 8.2 billion euros.

“The mobile device market has continued to be strong and Nokia delivery volumes of mobile devices in the third quarter are anticipated to exceed its earlier expectations,” the Finnish group said.

Nokia’s shares jumped on the news, gaining 4.8 per cent to 13.68 euros by 1118 GMT.

It said stronger-than-expected sales in July and August, cost controls and one-time items of about 1 euro cent per share, would result in third-quarter diluted earnings of 18-19 euro cents per share.

Nokia shocked investors in July with a weak third-quarter forecast of 14-17 cents per share after fierce price competition hit its second quarter. Analysts had previously pencilled in a figure of 20 euro cents for July to September.

“It seems like a solid raising of the guidance, driven by market share gains and better average selling prices,” said Paul Hanson, analyst at Kaupthing. “It’s an impressive performance.”

Texas Instruments Inc, increased its profit and revenue targets for the current quarter last week, citing broad demand.