Dresdner Kleinwort analyst Per Linderg believes Siemens's numbers "suggest that its network venture with Nokia may have underdelivered on expectations in the first three months of operations." In a research note, Linderg suggests NSN may have incurred a loss of about €100 million [$136 million), "instead of producing a respectable pre-restructuring surplus to the tune of €200 million [$272 million]," which would have been 5 percent of the expected quarterly sales of €4 billion ($5.46 billion).

    A €100 million loss would hit Nokia's earnings by around €0.05 per share, notes Lindberg.

    Nomura Securities analystRichard Windsor sees roughly the same scenario. He believes NSN's operating losses will reduce Nokia's second-quarter earnings from €0.33 to €0.29, down by €0.04. That could be "badly received, given that NSN has drained EBIT by €96 million [$131 million] instead of contributing €185 million [$252 million] to it."

    In his research note on the issue, Windsor adds: "This is strong evidence that life is proving to be tougher than expected and that the target of double digit margins by year end are unrealistic¡­ [This is] negative for Nokia."

    Nokia Siemens isn't the only major vendor displaying some financial fragility. Last week Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC - message board) disappointed investors after its Multimedia unit only reported break-even numbers, instead of the expected operating profits, and Western European sales were flat. (See Ericsson Reports Q2.)

    Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU- message board) reports its second-quarter results next Tuesday, July 31. Analysts are bracing themselves for another set of results that will likely be dragged down by the ongoing merger-related issues that hit the giant vendor's first-quarter results. (See AlcaLu Details Q1 Woes.)