NOKIA has surprised analysts and investors with a strong fourth-quarter result.
The Finnish provider of mobile network technology and services announced yesterday its operating profit increased by roughly 115 million euros from the previous year to 1,120 million euros between last October and December. Its net sales, in turn, crept up by three per cent to approximately 6,870 million euros.
The quarterly result was only expected to improve to 1,036 million euros, according to a consensus forecast compiled by Factset.
Nokia also revealed that its network business recorded a year-on-year increase of seven per cent in fourth-quarter net sales to 6,215 million euros and one of 30 per cent in operating profit to 841 million euros.
Rajeev Suri, the CEO of Nokia, stated in the earnings call that he expects the network equipment manufacturer this year to improve on its full-year result from 2018.
“Our view of a fast and meaningful shift to 5G remains unchanged. Given that 5G roll-outs will be staggered over the course of the year, we expect 2019 to have a soft first half followed by a much more robust second half,” he added in the interim report.
Suri on Thursday reiterated his confidence that the company’s end-to-end portfolio will enable it to benefit from what is expected to be a “virtuous cycle of investment, where operators update their networks across multiple domains”.
“Following this, we expect a second wave where industrial customers will invest in private wireless technology including LTE and 5G-ready networks,” he said.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: Uusi Suomi
