Sales of Nokia Lumia Windows Phone devices slipped to 8.2 million units in the fourth quarter, the company said this morning while discussing its quarterly financial results.
That was up from 4.4 million units in the same quarter a year ago, but down from 8.8 million in the third quarter — defying the traditional phenomenon of consumer electronics sales spiking during the peak holiday shopping season.
Lumia sales represent the vast majority of Windows Phone sales. The results also come in advance of Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Nokia’s smartphone business — providing a glimpse of the state of the business that Microsoft is purchasing. (That transaction is still expected to close this quarter, Nokia executives said on a conference call this morning.)
Net sales in the business being acquired by Microsoft fell to 2.6 billion euros (US $3.6 billion) in the fourth quarter, down 29 percent from the 3.7 billion euros (US $5 billion) in the same quarter in 2012. Operating margin fell to -7.6 percent, from 2.6 percent a year earlier.
In its earnings news release, Nokia said its smartphone sales “were affected by competitive industry dynamics including the strong momentum of competing smartphone platforms, as well as our portfolio transition from Symbian products to Lumia products.”
Microsoft reports its quarterly earnings after the market closes this afternoon. Check back for full coverage on GeekWire after the results are out.
