Nokia, a leading wireless and fixed-network equipment manufacturer, has released its first-quarter financial results, revealing a smaller-than-expected profit and a significant double-digit decline in sales. The company based in Espoo, Finland, reported a net profit of 501 million euros for the January-March period, an increase of 46% from the previous year but below analysts’ expectations.
The decline in sales is attributed to the weakened telecom equipment market driven by clients who are not investing in 5G technology. Despite this, CEO Pekka Lundmark expressed confidence in achieving the company’s full-year outlook, citing continued improvement in order intake.
Nokia’s CEO acknowledged the challenges faced by the company as one of the leading suppliers of 5G technology globally alongside Ericsson, Huawei, and Samsung. The mobile network unit was particularly impacted by the low levels of spending on 5G technology during the first quarter.
Despite these challenges, Nokia remains optimistic about the outlook for Network Infrastructure and projects a return to net sales growth in the second half of 2024. One-off gains from Nokia’s licensing business contributed to the profit, while net income attributable to shareholders stood at 497 million euros, up from 332 million euros a year earlier. Sales were down 20% at 4.7 billion euros.