Nokia to shed light on Internet push
HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's top cellphone maker Nokia (NOK1V.HE) is expected to issue new profit targets at next week's investor day in Amsterdam and to tout its plunge into Internet services.
Nokia, which sells more phones than its three closest rivals combined, unveiled a push into mobile Internet services earlier this year and is restructuring the firm to focus on the potentially lucrative software and services business.
Analysts also expect the Finnish company to give its first forecast on 2008 handset market growth.
Nokia's closest rival, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), on Wednesday forecast the cellphone market to show 12 percent volume growth in 2008.
Nokia is likely to be somewhat more cautious.
"Three years in a row, Nokia has guided at start of the year for around 10 percent market growth," OKO Bank industry analyst Hannu Rauhala said.
Several forecasters have estimated market growth will slow to less than 10 percent next year as cellphone vendors build up sales networks of very cheap phones in developing nations in the face of saturated Western consumer markets.
At a similar event last year, Nokia set a mid-term operating profit margin target for its key devices units -- mobile phones and multimedia -- at 17 percent, but it has reported margins of above 20 percent for the units.
"We foresee ambitious mobile device/service margin objectives. Anything less than 20 percent may unnerve investors," Dresdner Kleinwort analyst Per Lindberg said in a note to clients.
At the same time, Nokia's changing corporate structure may make the Finnish firm reluctant to issue directly comparable profit margin forecasts, some analyst said.
Last year, Nokia cut its group operating profit margin target to 15 percent, partly due to takeover of Siemens's (SIEGn.DE) network gear making business.
The newly formed Nokia Siemens Networks NSN.UL swung to an underlying profit in the third quarter, and analysts said they expected to receive a long-term profitability outlook for the business at the event on Tuesday.
(Editing by Will Waterman)
