Satellite navigation system-maker TomTom saw a rise in profit to €99m in the fourth quarter thanks in part to a one-off tax windfall. This is an increase of €87m on the year-earlier period.

However, turnover fell nearly 20% to €289m.

TomTom is selling fewer of its separate navigation boxes because people are increasingly using mobile telephones to find their way.

Profit over the whole of 2012 was €129m, compared with a loss in 2011 of €438m. Turnover for the year fell 17% to €lbn.

The total market for satnav systems fell from 3.2 million units to 2.5 million units in 2012. TomTom expects sales to slide again this year, to between €900m and €950m.

‘The year ahead will be a pivotal year as new products start to reach our customers. R&D investments will continue to shift to new technologies… to increase returns,’ chief executive Harold Goddijn said in a statement.