Nokia raises 2015 outlook, share price soars

Finnish telecom group Nokia on Thursday raised its full-year outlook after posting better-than-expected third quarter earnings, especially in its networks unit, sending its share price soaring by over eight percent.

At a time when operators are postponing or cutting investments in the roll-out of 4G networks amid a challenging economic climate, Nokia has seen strong sales growth in China which has compensated in part for declines in North America and Europe.

Once the world’s top mobile phone maker, Nokia’s main business is now its Networks division.

“While net sales were down slightly year-on-year on a reporting basis, Networks notched one of the highest underline gross margins in our history at 39.5 percent,” Nokia chief executive Rajeev Suri told reporters in a conference call.

The Networks division posted an operating margin of 13.6 percent in the third quarter, up from 13.5 percent a year ago.

For the full-year, that figure is expected to come in “around or slightly below the high end of the long-term range of 8 to 11 percent,” instead of the “midpoint” range previously forecast, the company said.

Overall Nokia’s third quarter attributable net profit dropped to 152 million euros ($166 billion), a fifth of what it was in the same period a year ago, while sales were down two percent to 3.0 billion euros ($3.4 billion). (AFP)