Nokia, the biggest technology company in Europe, whose slogan is 'connecting people', has suffered a 17.5 per cent slump in shares, signalling a 13-year low - and is close to losing its crown as the world's largest mobile phone retailer.
The Finnish multinational communications corporation, whose headquarters is in Keilaniemi, Espoo - a Helsinki suburb - has lost market share to iPhones and other smartphones and said it is expecting a drop in sales.
It is the latest sign that that company - which was a pioneer in mobile phone technology, producing one of the first commercial models in 1987 - has been overtaken by competitors such as Apple, who continue to gobble up business.
Only last month, Nokia announced that there would be 700 job cuts in the UK.
And now the company has said that it expects sales for devices and services to be 'substantially below' previous expectations.
It had hoped for net sales of between 6.1 billion Euros to 6.6 billion Euros (£5.3 billion to £5.8 billion) between April and June.
But the company has hinted that these figures are way off reality, as the popularity of Apple's iPhones continues to rise.
Only six months ago, in the fourth quarter of 2010, Nokia had 31 per cent of the global device market share.
But now the company appears to be nosediving - it lost 40 per cent of profit in July 2010.
This latest slump in shares comes a week before Apple CEO Steve Jobs will announce his company's latest technology, Lion, the next version of iPhone and iPad software.
Nokia insiders blame the drop in sales on 'competitive dynamics' and 'pricing tactics by certain competitors'.
Other companies in the top-end smartphone market, such as Research in Motion's Blackberry, and pressure from software such as Google's Android, are also hitting the Finnish firm.
Further, in these times where most feel obliged to have a mobile phone, but might not have a lot of expendable cash, low-end Chinese firms are proving able to pinch market share, too.
Nokia said operating margins in the second quarter will also be substantially below expectations of 6 per cent to 9 per cent due to lower than previously expected net sales.
The Finnish multinational communications corporation, whose headquarters is in Keilaniemi, Espoo - a Helsinki suburb - has lost market share to iPhones and other smartphones and said it is expecting a drop in sales.
It is the latest sign that that company - which was a pioneer in mobile phone technology, producing one of the first commercial models in 1987 - has been overtaken by competitors such as Apple, who continue to gobble up business.
Only last month, Nokia announced that there would be 700 job cuts in the UK.
And now the company has said that it expects sales for devices and services to be 'substantially below' previous expectations.
It had hoped for net sales of between 6.1 billion Euros to 6.6 billion Euros (£5.3 billion to £5.8 billion) between April and June.
But the company has hinted that these figures are way off reality, as the popularity of Apple's iPhones continues to rise.
Only six months ago, in the fourth quarter of 2010, Nokia had 31 per cent of the global device market share.
But now the company appears to be nosediving - it lost 40 per cent of profit in July 2010.
This latest slump in shares comes a week before Apple CEO Steve Jobs will announce his company's latest technology, Lion, the next version of iPhone and iPad software.
Other companies in the top-end smartphone market, such as Research in Motion's Blackberry, and pressure from software such as Google's Android, are also hitting the Finnish firm.
Further, in these times where most feel obliged to have a mobile phone, but might not have a lot of expendable cash, low-end Chinese firms are proving able to pinch market share, too.
Nokia said operating margins in the second quarter will also be substantially below expectations of 6 per cent to 9 per cent due to lower than previously expected net sales.
