The world's biggest maker of mobile phones announced an 85% increase in third-quarter profits today, topping analysts' estimates on the strength of popular new models. Nokia Oyj increased its already dominant market share to 39%, from 36% last year, giving the Finnish company more of the pie than its three biggest competitors—Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson—combined.
But the big surprise for analysts wasn’t the market share, Bloomberg says, but the margins, as Nokia revenue climbed despite lowering the average price of their phones 8.9%. “The profitability of their basic phones is at an amazing level,” said one analyst. “They can make low-end phones in a profitable way.” (More Nokia stories.)