Finnish mobile company Nokia has reported a significant drop in sales for 2013 only months before it is subsumed by Microsoft.
According to the report, the most worrying aspect of 2013 was a sales decline of 29pc from 2012 in its basic and smartphone range.
However, figures have yet to be released for the two latest additions to its Lumia and Asha smartphone ranges, which leave a number of questions about how the company will fare in the first quarter of this year.
Among the six market areas that Nokia operates in, the only market to see any growth whatsoever in its sales was Greater China. That market also happens to be Nokia’s smallest market, which grew from 416,000 in 2012 to 424,000 in 2013, amounting to a growth of 2pc.
The biggest fall in sales was in North America, where sales of 426,000 handsets dropped by 38pc in 2013 to 263,000.
Sales in Europe also decreased, by 21pc from just over 1m to 834,000.
Microsoft announced the purchase of Nokia’s devices and services business in September last year and hopes to turn the company’s fortunes around once it takes full control in the coming months.
