Helsinki, Oct. 28 (BNA): Telecom equipment maker Nokia reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter operating profit on Thursday as development investments, strategy updates and cost cuts continued to transform the business.
Reuters reported that third-quarter net sales rose 2% to 5.4 billion euros ($6.27 billion) from 5.3 billion a year earlier, in line with analyst expectations.
“The third quarter saw steady net currency sales growth of 2 percent despite the impact of previous North American headwinds for mobile networks and global supply chain constraints,” CEO Becca Lundmark said in a statement.
He added that Nokia now expects its comparative operating profit margin to be close to the upper end of the target range of 10 percent to 12 percent.
Similar operating profit from July to September rose to 633 million euros from 486 million last year, beating expectations of 488 million euros for eleven analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Nokia has warned that profits will be less clear in the second half of 2021 due to potential problems from a shortage of semiconductors, losing market share and having to cut prices in the highly competitive North American market.
In July, Nokia won China’s first 5G wireless contract, while northern rival Ericsson lost market share after Sweden decided last year to ban Chinese vendors from their 5G networks.