Bottomline

COPENHAGEN: Wireless and fixednetwork equipment maker Nokia on Thursday reported first-quarter operating profits of 354 million euros, down 18% from a year ago.

The Espoo, Finland-based company said net sales in the first quarter grew 1% in constant currency to 5.348 billion euros.

CEO Pekka Lundmark said that Q1 “was a strong start for the year both in terms of net sales and profitability.”

Nokia has suspended deliveries, stopped new business and moved research and development activities out of Russia which accounted for less than 2% of Nokia’s sales in 2021. The Finnish Telecoms network and 5G technology supplier said the exit will have no impact on its financial outlook this year. (AP)

GENEVA: Credit Suisse is reporting a pretax loss of 428 million Swiss francs ($443 million) and a plunge in revenues in the first quarter, marked in part by a loss of 206 million Swiss francs (about $214 million) linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The top-tier Swiss bank, which has faced a number of difficulties in recent months, also announced Wednesday a further shake-up of its executive ranks including the planned departure of its longtime chief financial officer, David Mathers.

Credit Suisse reported net revenues of 4.4 billion francs in the first quarter, a drop of 42% from a year earlier in the period, amid what CEO Thomas Gottstein said were “volatile market conditions and client risk aversion” so far in 2022, which he called a “transition year” for the bank.

The first quarter pretax loss of 428 million francs compared to a pretax loss of 757 million francs in the first quarter of 2021.

Revenue fell sharply in both investment bank and wealth management operations in the quarter, while revenue slid 10% in asset management operations. (AP)

NEW YORK: Merck soared past firstquarter expectations, helped by sales of its long-standing blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda and a new COVID-19 treatment that also topped forecasts.

The drugmaker raised its 2022 forecast Thursday after its coronavirus capsule treatment Lagevrio brought in almost $3.2 billion in sales in the quarter.

Analysts were expecting $2.54 billion from the drug, which debuted late last year under the name molnupiravir.

Not counting Lagevrio, Merck said its pharmaceutical revenue still grew 18% in the first quarter. Sales of Keytruda climbed 23% to $4.81 billion.

Analysts were expecting $4.47 billion, according to a survey by FactSet.

Revenue from the company’s Gardasil vaccines, which protect against cancercausing human papilloma virus infections, jumped 59% to $1.5 billion, helped by growth in China.

Overall, Merck’s profit climbed 36% to $4.31 billion.

Adjusted earnings, which exclude one-time items, totaled $2.14 per share, while total sales jumped 50% to $15.9 billion. (AP)