Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, Thursday reported a net loss of 492 million euros (695 million dollars) for the second quarter amid falling sales, according to dpa. The group reported a net profit of 104 million euros in the same business period in 2010. Second quarter net sales declined 7 per cent year-on-year to 9.2 billion euros, the Finnish company said. Nokia had in May announced it expected poorer sales for its handsets amid growing competition, especially in the smartphone sector where the likes of Apple have made strong gains. It earlier said it would use Microsoft software for its high-end mobile telephones and phase out Nokia's own Symbian operating system, which has seen its market share slide. The loss was lower than analysts had feared and the Nokia share price rose 4 per cent on the Helsinki bourse. Net sales for Nokia's mobile phones and smartphones fell 20 per cent in the quarter to 88.5 million handsets. The tally included 16.7 million smartphones, suggesting that Apple now tops the global market in that sector. The decline in Nokia handset sales was 18 per cent compared to the first quarter 2011. Nokia said it expected continued pressure on handset prices and noted that distributors and operators reduced their inventories during the second quarter. "The challenges we are facing during our strategic transformation manifested in a greater than expected way in Q2," chief executive Stephen Elop said in a statement. Cost-saving steps to be in place for 2013 were to be speeded up. The average sale price of Nokia handsets in the quarter was 62 euros, up from 61 euros in the preceding quarter.
