HELSINKI, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The world's biggest mobile phone producer, Nokia, reported Thursday a return to profit in the third quarter but a notable drop in its global handset market share.

According to the report, net sales were 10.3 billion euros (14.4 billion U.S. dollars), up 5 percent from the same quarter last year. Operating profit was 403 million euros (564.6 million dollars) and earnings per share increased to 0.14 euro (20 U.S. cents).

Nokia sold 110.4 million mobile device units in July-to-September, 2 percent up from the same period in 2009. However, Nokia estimated its global mobile phone market share had fallen to 30 percent from 34 percent in the year-ago period.

The fall in market share confirm expectations in the industry, where the consensus is that Nokia has not responded strongly to the launch of major new products by competitors such as Apple.

Analyst Michael Schroeder said Nokia was still selling older smart phones models in the third quarter. The sales figures did not include the company's new flagship smart phone, the N8, which began shipping in late September.

New chief executive officer Stephen Elop said Nokia needed to reevaluate its role in the industry. He said the company was facing "a remarkably disruptive time" and needed to reassess its role.

Nokia announced it would streamline its Symbian smart phones division to be more competitive under a plan to cut 1,800 jobs globally, of which up to 850 would be in Finland.

The Q3 result was better than expected and Nokia shares rose 8.6 percent after the report was published on the Helsinki stock market.