Telecom Lead Europe: Nokia’s location and commerce service clocked 9 percent dip in revenue to €278 million in Q4 2012 from €306 million in Q4 2011.
However, for the full year, Nokia’s location and commerce service increased revenue by 1 percent to €1.103 billion from €1.091 billion.
READ FULL REPORT: Nokia Location and Commerce Service Financial Performance in Q4 2012
In the fourth quarter 2012, the year-on-year increase in external Location & Commerce net sales was primarily due to higher sales of map content licenses to vehicle customers due to higher consumer uptake of vehicle navigation systems.
In the fourth quarter 2012, the sequential increase in external Location & Commerce net sales was primarily due to a higher consumer uptake of vehicle navigation systems as well as seasonally higher sales to personal navigation devices customers.
Location & Commerce research and development expenses decreased 10 percent year-on-year due to cost reductions. On a sequential basis, research and development expenses increased 5 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter 2012 primarily due to increased project spending relating to software development and map creation.
Nokia expects Location & Commerce operating margin in the first quarter 2013 to be negative due to lower recognized revenue from internal sales, which carry higher gross margin, and to a lesser extent by a negative mix shift within external sales.