Ailing Nokia axes jobs

Nokia today admitted it will slash one in five jobs and sell luxury mobile phones brand Vertu in the latest blow to the once-mighty Finnish telecoms firm.

The shares crashed 10.5% to a 16-year low of €1.99 as chief executive Stephen Elop announced yet another profit warning.

Operating margins will sink further into the red, below the minus 3% level reported in the first quarter.

Elop has focused on selling cheaper basic smartphones such as the Lumia but the result has been Nokia continues to lose share to market leaders Apple’s iPhone, Samsung’s Galaxy and Google’s Android. He is cutting 10,000 jobs and closing Nokia’s last factory in Finland.

Analysts warned the outlook was highly uncertain as Nokia offered little clear guidance about when it might return to profit and its cash pile is shrinking. “We are also concerned that any smartphone updates will still be inferior to Android and Apple iOS roll-outs later this year,” said Jefferies.

Swedish venture-capital firm EQT Partners has paid around €200 million (£161 million) for Vertu, whose luxury handsets are aimed at the super rich and sell for six-figure sums.

The Vertu Signature Cobra (pictured) designed with diamonds, emeralds and rubies by jeweller Boucheron, sells for about £168,000.