Nokia Quarterly Sales Up 10%

The Finnish manufacturer of telecommunications equipment published a quarterly reportingreporting a ten percent increase in net sales over the period to €5.86 billion. This is slightly above analysts’ forecasts, interviewed Refinitive. However, the company’s operating profit fell by 18% to €479 million; net income also fell by 18% to €342 million; earnings per share decreased by 14% to €0.06; and the gross margin was 37.7% against 40.7% in the same period last year.

Nokia’s operating profit was well below the forecasts of analysts polled by Refinitiv, who had expected a figure of €532.4 million, and analysts interviewed Bloomberg, which had expected €544 million, also had lower earnings per share than expected. Commenting on the company’s results, Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark said he sees signs that “the economic situation is starting to take a toll on consumer spending.” The results were reflected in the decline in demand in the markets of a number of countries, primarily in the United States. Although strong growth in demand in the fast-growing Indian market partly offset this. The Finnish manufacturer confirmed earlier forecasts for the full year, leaving the operating margin in the range of 11.5-14%, annual sales are expected in the region of €26.2 billion.

Alena Miklashevskaya