Finnish vendor Nokia said today that its Q4 net profit surged 44% to US$2.6 billion and that it had reached its long-term goal of 40% market share in handset sales. Nokia stock grew 12.4% to US$33.81 after the announcement. The company’s net sales in the October-December period grew 34% to €15.7 billion (US$22.9 billion), with more than 133 million handsets sold, up 27% from the same period in 2006.

Nokia’s strong performance is in contrast to rival Motorola, which saw shares plunge more than 23% Wednesday after new CEO Greg Brown announced an 84% fall in net profit and said the recovery of its handset division will take longer than expected. Meanwhile Nokia’s CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo has told Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that the company is unlikely to change its decision to shut a mobile phone manufacturing plant in Bochum, Germany, despite widespread protests. Yesterday Mobile Business Briefing reported that over 15,000 people in the town demonstrated this week against the company’s plans to close the plant and cut 2,300 local jobs.