Bad News for Microsoft: Nokia Phone Sales Fall in Q4

So much for going out on a high note.

Nokia reported Thursday that net sales for its devices business — which Microsoft has agreed to acquire — were about $3.55 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013. That represents a 29% year-over-year decline in net sales for this division.

The company blamed the poor performance in this division, which it is now referring to as "discontinued operations" as a result of the acquisition agreement, to growing competition in the smartphone market.

"Our Mobile Phones net sales were affected by competitive industry dynamics, including intense smartphone competition at increasingly lower price points and intense competition at the low end of our product portfolio," the company noted in its earnings report. "Our Smart Devices net sales were affected by competitive industry dynamics including the strong momentum of competing smartphone platforms, as well as our portfolio transition from Symbian products to Lumia products." Read more...