Nokia said it would delay again its flagship smartphone N8 model, hitting its shares on the day new chief executive Stephen Elop started at the helm of the world's top cellphone maker. The N8 is seen by analysts as Nokia's first top-range model to challenge Apple's iPhone more than three years after its launch.
Its success is seen as being crucial for Nokia's profit margins, and analysts warned on Tuesday the delay could hit earnings in the third and fourth quarter. "A single device does not normally have a significant impact on Nokia's development. But with the N8 the firm has much more at stake," analysts at Helsinki-based FIM Bank said in a note.
"The new delay is once again a blow to Nokia's already tarnished image and it could also endanger the firm's Q3 earnings target," they said. Nokia shares were 3.2 percent lower at 7.62 euros by 1203 GMT, underperforming 0.2 percent softer STXE 600 Technology index.
"Given an envisaged around 3-5 week delay in N8 ramp-up, as well as potential further execution delay around the remaining product portfolio refresh, we believe Q4 sell-side estimates are too high," Citigroup analyst Zahid Hussein said in a note. A company spokesman said the first phones were still scheduled to leave factories by the end of September, but deliveries to consumers who had pre-ordered the phone would be delayed by a few weeks.
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