“Nokia Oyj’s debt, already at junk status at the three biggest rating companies, was lowered further by two steps at Fitch Ratings after the Finnish mobile- phone maker’s second-quarter loss widened,” Cornelius Rahn reports for Bloomberg.
“The long-term rating was cut to BB- from BB+ with a negative outlook, Fitch said in a statement today. Nokia yesterday reported an operating loss at its handset division equivalent to 9.1 percent of revenue adjusted for some items and forecast similar losses for the current period,” Rahn reports. “‘If these operational losses are not reversed, the support that the cash cushion gives the rating is going to be eroded faster, which could lead to further downgrades,’ Fitch said in its statement. Fitch cut Nokia’s debt to junk in April.”
Rahn reports, “The company has announced more than 20,000 job cuts and shuttered production and research sites as it tries to offset a continuing decline in revenue. Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop is betting on the Lumia smartphone running Microsoft Corp. software to halt gains by Apple Inc.’s iPhone and handsets using Google Inc.’s Android software.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Good luck with that bet, Flop… er, Elop.
Related article:
Beleaguered Nokia’s Q2 results a disaster and it’s due to get even worse – July 19, 2012
http://www.manley.com/melopb.php
MS’ 5th column attempt at putting Elop in Nokia hasn’t really panned out.
I like their strategy, I like it a lot.
As long as it takes! Cheers 😀
Elop = RPN?
As an early adopter of RPN calcs, that really hurts! 🙂 My trusty 15-yo HP-32s is still my computational workhorse.
Quick, what’s lower than junk?
Answer: Windows Phone 7.
IMO, android is lower than junk.
Despite the limited success of windows phone 7, Microsoft actually TRIED to do something original for once, whereas google just copied apple.
So… IMO iOS >>>>>> WP7 > Junk > Android.
I know they’re toast, especially after being suckered by M$, but it’s sad that they couldn’t put out better product lately. I used their phones exclusively for over 15 years before I got my iPhone 3GS. For their day they were pretty decent phones.
Don’t feel too much sympathy for Nokia. They didn’t exactly push the envelope all those years. They weren’t all that concerned about the user experience. All of the phone manufacturers were so complacent and behind in what was possible someone like Apple could “just walk right in and take over.” Let that be a warning to any tech company not to get too comfortable. The guy who will put you out of business could be just around the corner.
It’s not Elop’s fault. He’s doing precisely what was expected of him. The true culprit is the board of directors for actually hiring Elop.
The company was hosed before he came in. The previous 2 geniuses ruined the company. Eliot did what he could do but I doubt anyone could have saved them in the shape that they were in.
Kind of sad.
MSFT just posted its first ever quarterly loss, due to a write down on a bad investment (there are several waiting in the wings to be written off).
The $1 BILLION that MSFT invested in Nokia may soon be written off as well.
Could we see a string of reported quarterly losses coming MSFT’s way?
Don’t forget about the Skype…
I heard that was falling, too
I wonder if Elop graduated from the Steve Ballmer School of CEO Management where at graduation ceremony, “Pomp and Circumstances” music is not played but rather the phrase, “I like our strategy! I like it a lot.” is played over and over again.