Nokia Defends Self Against Forecast Lawsuit Apr 9, 2004

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Mobile phone maker Nokia, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, has defended itself against a lawsuit filed by investors in the U.S. that accused the company of making "material misrepresentations" about its financial outlook for the first quarter.

Nokia vowed to "defend itself against the complaint" and called it meritless.

The complaint, filed on April 6, 2004 in U.S. District Court in New York, U.S., was tied to the company's previous statements about expected first-quarter financial results and targeted the company itself, and four of its executives, including the CEO, Jorma Ollila.

The lawsuit claims Nokia has issued "material misrepresentations" about its forecast during the period of January through April, causing the value of shares to grow artificially higher in value, only to have them drop after it warned Monday that sales were expected to drop.

Nokia said in the forecast that its sales were expected to drop by 2 percent from last year, down from previous forecasts of 3-percent to 7-percent growth, sending its shares down 17 percent at the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

The first quarter results will be released April 16, 2004.

Nokia, whose mobile phone sales account for 80 percent of total revenue, has focused increasingly on the handset market. (Associated Press)

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