Nokia reports strong H1 results, 5G growth

Finland-based telecommunications giant Nokia improved both its sales and results during the second quarter (Q2) of this year, reported Xinhua, quoting the company press release on Thursday.

Nokia's Q2 net sales increased four percent year-on-year, from 5,092 million euros to 5,313 million euros. Its comparable operating profit in Q2 grew drastically by 61 percent to 682 million euros against 423 million euros in Q2 2020.

The company's comparable operating margin of Q2 increased to 12.8 percent from 8.3 percent a year ago.

During the first half (H1) of this year, Nokia's net sales grew four percent to 10,389 million euros from 10,007 million euros in the same period of last year. Its comparable operating profit in H1 increased dramatically by 129 percent to 1,234 million euros from 539 million euros in the corresponding half of 2020.

The company said that its "top-line strength continued in Q2," driven by growth across all business groups, especially in network infrastructure.

Nokia's performance surprised local analysts, who had been quoted by a Finnish language business daily Kauppalehti as predicting results to the tune of 408 million euros.

Nokia's Q2 sales in the "Greater China business area" increased 11 percent, from 338 million euros to 374 million euros, while its H1 sales in the area grew from 671 million euros to 776 million euros year-on-year.

Pekka Lundmark, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Nokia, told journalists on Thursday that his company's position in the global 5G markets has improved markedly.