Nokia, Motorola Q2 profit spurred by India, China sales

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July 19: Nokia Oyj and Motorola Inc, the world’s biggest mobile-phone makers, will probably say handset sales in China and India buoyed earnings in the second quarter.

Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, may say July 20 net income rose 25 % to 1 billion euros ($1.27 billion), according to the median estimate of 13 analysts. Profit at Schaumburg, Illinois-based Motorola, which reports July 19, was probably $725 million, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Scott Coleman.

Motorola’s year-earlier profit of $933 million was boosted by a $425 million gain from the sale of an investment. The two companies have introduced cheaper phones to lure more first-time buyers and take market share from Samsung Electronics Co in China and India, the fastest-growing markets.

Facing slower growth at home, Nokia and Motorola are selling pricier models to widen margins and compete with digital cameras and Research In Motion Ltd’s BlackBerry e-mail pager.

“Phone makers need to innovate and bring some tougher competition to the likes of BlackBerry to raise the growth rates in developed markets,’’ said John van den Berg, a fund manager at AZL Vermogensbeheer in Heerlen, Netherlands, which oversees about $1.3 billion of stock, including Nokia. ‘‘I’m relatively positive about the mobile-phone market, but if there is an economic slowdown, the emerging markets will feel it first.’’