Microsoft made a huge push for Windows Phone 8 late last year with stellar devices from multiple OEMs. The best, however, was arguably Nokia’s Lumia 920 which was exclusively available through AT&T. Some analysts predicted that the phone would do well, and Nokia was more than happy to confirm that to be fact this morning.
In a preliminary filing, Nokia says that its Devices & Services business has “exceeded expectations and achieved underlying profitability” over the last quarter. The company estimates that its fourth quarter net sales were approximately €3.9 billion. It also shipped a total of 86.3 million units in the same quarter.
So how well did its smartphone division do? Nokia says that it sold 6.6 million smartphones in the last quarter for sales of €1.2 billion. Out of those 6.6 million devices, 4.4 million were Nokia Lumia devices. It doesn’t say how well the Lumia 920 specifically did, but an analyst report from last year says that Nokia received an order for 2.5 million Lumia 920s after selling out at online retailer Amazon, and seeing great success in Germany.
Like always, Nokia seems to have done well in its regular mobile phone division with sales of €2.5 billion. The company shipped 79.6 million units in the last quarter with its proprietary Asha feature phone series selling 9.3 million units.
“We are pleased that Q4 2012 was a solid quarter where we exceeded expectations and delivered underlying profitability in Devices & Services and record underlying profitability in Nokia Siemens Networks,” Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said. “We focused on our priorities and as a result we sold a total of 14 million Asha smartphones and Lumia smartphones while managing our costs efficiently, and Nokia Siemens Networks delivered yet another very good quarter.”
Nokia isn’t out of the woods just yet, however, as the company has to keep its momentum going forward. One good quarter doesn’t mean a thing if Windows Phone 8 fails to catch on at large. Nokia made a gamble when it threw all in with Microsoft, and now Microsoft has to work on convincing people that its mobile platform is better than what’s provided by Apple or Google.
Even if Windows Phone 8 fails to capture a worthwhile audience, it seems that Nokia may have a backup plan. Just don’t expect that plan to feature any more smartphones.