Nokia posts £323m loss, smartphone sales down 32%

Nokia - not out of the woods yet
Nokia - not out of the woods yet

Nokia has posted its financial results for the second quarter of 2011, revealing an enormous net loss of £323 million.

Net sales of all products fell by 7 per cent, but the company was heavily hit in the smartphone arena where it sold 32 per cent fewer handsets compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

The heavy losses won't come as too much of a surprise to the company, which is well aware of its failings in the growing smartphone market and is taking steps to improve its fortunes by moving to the Windows Phone 7 OS later this year.

However, it was forced to issue a warning earlier in the week that its results were likely to be even worse than anticipated.

Blame game

Predictably, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop deflected blame to the "strategic transformation" and conceded that it impacted in "a greater than expected way in the second quarter."

However, he claims that the company is on the up, adding: "We are making better-than expected progress toward our strategic goals."

The only major smartphone launch Nokia has managed this year is the Nokia N9, which isn't yet in the shops and runs MeeGo, an OS that Nokia has distanced itself from and is unlikely to pursue. Good work.

Check out our video preview of the orphaned handset below.

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.