Nokia cuts handset sales forecast

Nokia has downgraded its outlook for the fourth quarter of the year, blaming a "sharp pull-back in global consumer spending".

On Friday, the Finnish communications giant said it expects to ship 330 million handsets in the quarter. Consequently, Nokia's shipments forecast for the whole of 2008 dropped from 1.26 billion units to 1.24 billion.

"As a result of the rapid change in global consumer spending, which has impacted the mobile device market, Nokia now expects that the industry mobile device volumes will be lower in the fourth quarter of 2008 than previously expected," the company said in a statement. Nokia also suggested it was being affected by some of its trade customers finding it hard to get credit in the current climate.

Nokia estimated that device unit shipments would be lower in 2009 than this year. The company also said that both it and Nokia Siemens Networks would see a smaller market in mobile infrastructure, fixed infrastructure and related services, in euro terms.

According to its statement, the company will next year "curtail use of external contractors, consultants and professional services", and work on further cuts to its operating expenses. Nokia said it would provide more details on its 2009 outlook in early December.

In October, Nokia's third-quarter results showed a 30 percent drop in profits, and the company subsequently announced it could be laying off hundreds of workers.