LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Nokia Corp. Chief Financial Officer Rick Simonson Tuesday said that despite mobile phones being cheaper in countries such as India and China, emerging markets will drive growth for the company in coming years.
"High growth in emerging markets is a good thing and is driving margins and cash flow," said Simonson, speaking in an interview with broadcaster CNBC Europe Tuesday.
Some industry experts have shown concern that targeting fast growing, highly populated countries such as India could reduce the average selling price of a mobile handset. However, Simonson said the company had the scale to sell cheaper handsets, but maintain the company's margins overall.
The Finnish mobile phone giant earlier said that it expected industry mobile phone volume growth in 2008 to be above 15% in Asia-Pacific, China, the Middle East and Africa.
Simonson, CFO of the world's largest mobile phone maker by sales, also said in the interview with CNBC Europe that the company expected to see growth in the smartphone sector - where average selling prices are higher. Some 120 million smartphones will be sold in 2007 and this is likely to rise to 180 million in 2008, he said.
Despite fluctuations in certain commodities effecting the price of mobile phone components, Simonson said Nokia has the economies of scale to offset this.
-By Daniel Thomas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9264; dan.thomas@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Posted to the site on 4th December 2007
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