Nokia increases market share

Nokia: Double the market share of its nearest rival

Nokia has strengthened its grip on the world's mobile phone handset market.

Figures from research group Gartner Dataquest showed the Finnish firm extended its market share to 30.6% in the third quarter of 2000.

Mobile phone makers: Market share, Q3 2000

Nokia 30.6%

Motorola 13.3%

Ericsson 9.7%

Siemens 8.6%

Alcatel 5.6%

Panasonic 5.4%

Others 26.8%

Nokia's principal rivals, US-based Motorola and Sweden's Ericsson, both saw their shares eroded.

For the first time, Nokia has a market share more than double that of its nearest competitor.

Aside from Nokia, the big winner was German group Siemens, which increased its market share to 8.6% - and fourth place worldwide - from 5.5% in the previous quarter.

In the process, it overtook France's Alcatel and Japan's Panasonic.

Publication of the figures had little effect on the companies' share prices.

Well received

Nokia's upbeat growth forecast delivered late last year had been well received by analysts while Siemens had taken aggressive measures to increase its market share.

In contrast, both Ericsson and Motorola have had widely publicised troubles at their mobile divisions.

Both companies have recently lowered their overall profit expectations.

Also on Friday, another research group, Forrester, predicted declining revenue for Europe's mobile phone network operators from 2003 and losses from 2007.

Forrester said five dominant players would control Europe's networks by 2015.