Nokia Sees Rise in Handset Sales

Mobile phone maker Nokia says its third-quarter results will be better than previously forecast, thanks to higher-than-expected handset sales.
The Finnish giant now predicts its quarterly sales will be as high as 6.9bn euros ($8.4bn; £4.7bn), compared to its past estimate of up to 6.8bn euros.

The news is a welcome boost for the firm, which has lost ground to rivals in the past year.

Higher sales can be attributed to the release of several new phone models.

In July, Nokia reported that its market share had fallen 8% over the past year.

The company admitted that it did not have enough models offering cameras, colour screens or in the fold-away design.

Nokia has since rush released a series of new models, which appear to be proving immediately popular, and it has also reduced some prices.

"The longer term issues have not been totally resolved yet, but in the shorter term it shows that the (Nokia's) market share is gradually going up again," said telecom expert Mika Paloranta of investment bank Carnegie.

Nokia's share price shot up more than 7% on the upgraded quarterly forecast.