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Shares in Nokia have plunged 18% after the mobile phone giant said it expected to make losses in the first and second quarters of 2012. The Finnish company said competition in the industry had led to lower sales particularly in India, the Middle East, Africa and China. Nokia had previously expected to break even in the first quarter. It said it would continue to increase its focus on accelerating sales of its Lumia smartphones and cutting costs. "During the first quarter [of] 2012, multiple factors negatively affected Nokia's Devices & Services business to a greater extent than previously expected," Nokia said in a statement. These included gross margin declines, particularly in the Smart Devices business unit, the firm said. As a result it now expects operating margin in the first quarter 2012 of "approximately negative 3%", compared with the previously expected range of "around breakeven, ranging either above or below by approximately 2 percentage points". It expects operating margin in the second quarter "to be similar to or below the first quarter 2012 level".