Symbian growth slows in Q2, sales drop

HELSINKI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - British mobile phone operating software company Symbian reported a sharp slowdown in growth in the second quarter of 2008, as the global economic slowdown weighed on demand for multimedia phones and just a few new models reached the market.

Symbian is 48-percent owned by the world's biggest cell phone maker Nokia Oyj (NOK1V.HE), who offered in June 264 million euros ($387 million) to buy out other shareholders.

Symbian's shipments rose just 5 percent to 19.6 million units in the three months to end-June, compared with a 17-percent growth rate in the previous quarter and more than 50 percent annual growth seen in late 2007, the firm said on Tuesday.

Symbian said turnover fell 14 percent to 37.8 million pounds ($68.26 million) in the three months compared with last year, as average royalties per phone fell to $3.40 from $4.30.

Nokia aims to boost Symbian's growth rate through making its software royalty-free to all phone makers, in response to the new rivalry of Google's (GOOG.O) royalty-free Android platform.

Symbian products are used in around 7 percent of mobile phones worldwide, but it is the dominating software among multimedia phones. (Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Greg Mahlich)