Nokia Oyj has reported better than expected second-quarter earnings on the back of improved margins for telecoms equipment and software despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing a substantial drop in revenue.
The Espoo, Finland-based maker of new-generation 5G mobile and other networks yesterday said that its net profit for the April-to-June period was up 22 percent at 316 million euros (US$374.16 million). Sales were down 11 percent at 5.1 billion euros.
Nokia estimated that the COVID-19 crisis hurt its net sales by about 300 million euros in the second quarter and about 500 million euros in the first half of this year.
“We expect that the majority of sales missed in the [second] quarter due to COVID-19 will shift to future periods,” Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri said, adding that Nokia has concluded 83 commercial deals for 5G.
Along with China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Sweden’s Ericsson AB, Nokia is one of the three main providers of 5G networks.
Huawei is at the center of a US-China dispute over technology, with US President Donald Trump’s administration saying that it can help the Chinese government spy on people, a claim the company denies.
Yesterday marked the last day as Nokia CEO for Suri, a company veteran with 25 years in service and head of the company since 2014. His appointed successor, Pekka Lundmark, takes over today.
Lundmark, 56, is a former CEO of the Finnish energy group Fortum. He worked at Nokia in various executive positions from 1990 to 2000.
In May, shareholders approved the appointment of Sari Baldauf, who has an extensive Nokia background, as the firm’s new chair.
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