Nokia reported abysmal Q2 2011 results on Thursday: a $693 million operating loss and a 20% year-over-year decline in net sales.
Such a poor quarter is likely the result of continued weakness in smartphone sales as Nokia prepares to switch to Microsoft's smartphone platform, Windows Phone 7. Nokia did poorly in segments of its business other than smartphones too; for example, featurephone net sales saw a 20% year-over-year decline in Q2.
"The challenges we are facing during our strategic transformation manifested in a greater than expected way in Q2 2011," said Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, adding that he believes that the company is still making "better-than-expected" progress toward its goals.
"While our Q2 results were clearly disappointing, we are executing well on the initiatives that are most important to our longer term competitiveness," said Elop.