Nokia called its third quarter earnings a demonstration of how it is delivering on its ambition to accelerate growth. Net sales grew six percent in constant currency as supply constraints started to ease and the company said it maintained good profitability with a comparable operating margin of 10.5 percent. This was slightly down year-on-year, as improving profitability in Mobile Networks and Network Infrastructure was offset by timing effects of contract renewals in Nokia Technologies.
“I was pleased to see a strong quarter in Mobile Networks,” said CEO Pella Lundmark, “which grew 12 percent in constant currency as we benefited from our improved competitiveness and improving supply situation. Net sales growth remained robust also in Network Infrastructure at five percent driven by continued strong underlying demand trends.”
Services declined three percent as the company said it was working to rebalance the portfolio but with improving gross margin. Nokia Technologies reported good progress in its patent licensing growth areas such as automotive and consumer electronics. These areas, which were negligible in 2018, contributed over $100 million in net sales in the past 12 months.
“As we start to look beyond 2022,” Lundmark said, “we recognize the increasing macro and geopolitical uncertainty within which we operate. While it could have an impact on some of our customers’ capex spending, we currently expect growth on a constant currency basis in our addressable markets in 2023. Considering our recent success in new 5G deals in regions like India which are expected to ramp up strongly in 2023, we believe we are firmly on a path to outperform the market and to make progress towards achieving our long-term margin targets,” he said.
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