Last Call: Nokia climbs as 2Q report tops views

NEW YORK—Shares of Nokia Corp. jumped Thursday after the world's No. 1 cell phone maker reported second-quarter report above expectations, and the company slightly increased its guidance for overall handset market growth in 2008.

Nokia's American Depositary Shares rose $2.18, or 8.7 percent, to close at $27.31 in Thursday trading. In the past year, the stock has traded between $23.58 and $42.22.

Nokia said Thursday that its profit fell 61 percent in the second quarter from the same quarter a year ago, when Nokia booked a $2.98 billion gain from its network joint venture with Siemens AG. Nokia's revenue rose 4 percent.

The company's report beat analysts' expectations. Nokia also said handset volume growth could rise above its previous estimate of 10 percent for 2008.

In a note to investors, Cowen & Co. analyst Matthew Hoffman called the company's results "solid," saying they were "better than many feared, given sliding consensus and tougher macro conditions."

As for Nokia's increase to its global handset growth forecast, Hoffman said the "more positive language around units should somewhat stem fears that the overall economic challenges are translating into lower handset sales."

Hoffman rates the stock "Outperform."