Nokia profit plunges 90 percent in first quarter

The world's top mobile phone maker said net profit was only euro122 million ($161 million) compared to euro1.2 billion in the same period last year. Sales fell 27 percent to euro9.3 billion ($12.2 billion) from euro12.7 billion.

Still, Nokia sold more phones than some had expected, and its shares jumped 9.4 percent to close at euro11.08 ($14.60) in Helsinki."Although their performance was bad, it wasn't as bad as expected," said Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics in London. "Everyone talked Nokia down, so there was a general relief that things weren't that bad after all."

Nokia sold 93 million mobile phones in the first quarter, down 19 percent from 115 million in the year-ago period. Mawston said the market had been expecting volumes of 90-92 million."That seems to be the core driver" of the share price, Mawston said.

Investors were also relieved that Nokia held on to its market outlook for its key mobile device unit. That reinforced the sense that the market has bottomed out, said FIM Bank analyst Michael Schroeder."That's the impression we got from Nokia," he said. "There's also been a general assumption in recent weeks that there are certain lights now in selective markets," he said.