Nokia posts losses and weak sales in fourth quarter

DPA
·1 min read
Nokia headquarters in Espoo, Finland. Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia on 25 January reported losses of €33 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of €3.15 billion 12 months prior. Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/dpa
Nokia headquarters in Espoo, Finland. Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia on 25 January reported losses of €33 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of €3.15 billion 12 months prior. Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/dpa

Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia on Thursday reported losses of €33 million ($35.9 million) in the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of €3.15 billion 12 months prior.

Loss per share was €0.01, compared to a profit of €0.56 a year ago.

The latest result was impacted by an operating model change that led to non-cash remeasurement of deferred tax assets.

Profit for the period was €568 million, compared €929 million a year ago. Comparable earnings per share were €0.10, compared to €0.16 last year.

Net sales fell 23% to €5.71 billion from €7.45 billion a year earlier. Net sales declined 21% in constant currency.

The Nokia Board also proposed dividend authorization of €0.13 per share and initiated two year €600 million buyback program.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects the challenging environment of 2023 to continue during the first half of 2024, particularly in the first quarter.

Nokia expects full-year 2024 comparable operating profit of between €2.3 billion and €2.9 billion and free cash flow conversion from comparable operating profit of between 30% and 60%. The 2023 comparable operating profit was €2.38 billion.

For fiscal 2026, the company projects net sales to grow faster than the market, and comparable operating margin of at least 13%, which was revised down recently.

Nokia still expects at least 14% target remains achievable in the longer term.