Nokia Corp. says fourth-quarter mobile phone sales exceeded its own expectations, sparking a sharp rise in the company's share price.

The struggling Finnish phone manufacturer says it sold a total 86.3 million devices in the last three months of 2012, including 4.4 million Lumia smart phones, while revenues amounted to some 3.9 billion euros.

But the company, which has seen its market share fall precipitously in recent years, adds that seasonality and competition will have a negative impact on the handset division's first-quarter profitability in comparison to the last three months of 2012.