Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is due to report its earnings for the first quarter of 2013 tomorrow. From market movements today, it appears a lot of investors are willing to take a gamble on better than expected results.
Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) shares have risen by more than 4 percent on todays market, but the company is still down more than 9 percent for the year to date. The company’s schizophrenic business model may be to blame.
The problem for investors seems to be difficulty in figuring out where Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) thinks its profits are going to come from. Despite some strong showing in the smart phone market, the company has continually failed to impress.
An RBC Capital Markets Analyst, Mark Sue, sees the breakdown of Nokia Siemens Networks as one of the most important factors going ahead in 2013. The telecom equipment manufacturing joint venture was successful in 2012, but Siemens AG (ADR) (NYSE:SI) (FRA:SIE) (ETR:SIE) has stated that it no longer wants to be a part of that business. The decision on what to do with the segment could define the rest of the year for Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V).
There are three broad options. The first is for Nokia Corporation to purchase the half of the business held by Siemens AG (ADR) (NYSE:SI) (FRA:SIE) (ETR:SIE). It’s difficult to figure out how the company could plausibly finance that move, but it remains a possibility. The second is for a new partner to come in and purchase the Siemens share. The third option, spinning off the company, seems to align most closely with Nokia strategy.
The company employs most of Nokia’s staff, and is a heavy cost burden on the firm. The real question is what the company could do with the money it would make from an IPO, or a sale of its own shares. Nokia has been strapped for cash for a long time, an infusion might just go to waste.
The RBC report concentrates heavily on the shift of the mobile market to low and mid end models designed to serve emerging markets. The margins on these devices are not high, and Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) can’t seem to turn a decent profit on models on the high end that have strong margins for competitors.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is being pulled in several directions at once, and as a whole it can’t seem to elucidate where its profits are going to come from. The firm is expected to show a $0.10 loss per share tomorrow, and very little promise about the future.
