LONDON: British mobile software firm Symbian said on Tuesday shipments had climbed 50 per cent to 77.3 million units in 2007, while sales were up 17 per cent at 194.3 million pounds.

The company, nearly half owned by Finnish handset maker Nokia, said it shipped 22.4 million units in the fourth quarter alone, although its average royalty per unit fell to $4.5 from $5.3 in 2006. "I am happy with these results. We have seen 50 per cent growth and are now shipping around three units a second, so by the end of this week we will have passed the 200 million phone mark since Symbian was formed (in 2000)," Chief Executive Nigel Clifford told the media.

Symbian produces the operating and application software for advanced mobile phones, known as smartphones. The company aims to keep growing by using its software, which enables the internet to be used on a mobile, on models further down the product range.

Symbian products are used in around 7 per cent of mobile phones world-wide. Clifford said the firm was confident it would not be affected by any global economic downturn, saying he believed mobiles were now an essential item and that the group's effort to access lower cost devices would protect it. "If people are going to trade down, we should benefit," he said.

Source : PTI