Nokia reports decline in profits, pledges to improve

Finnish telecommunication company Nokia on Thursday reported a major decline in its profit for the first quarter of 2018.

Profits stood at 239 million euros (289.5 million U.S. dollars), down from 341 million euros in Q1 2017. Business daily Kauppalehti said the profit expectations of several analysts earlier ranged between 241 million and 464 million euros.

Nokia's Q1 sales and profit were impacted primarily by lower network sales in North America. North America is a key marketing area for Nokia. The company sees customer demand for 5G accelerating further, particularly in North America. Nokia expects 5G commercial development to begin near the end of 2018.

In the networks business, the result was poor in January-March, while the licensing and development of patents brought the bulk of profit.

The profit of Nokia Networks was down to 43 million euros from 324 million euros in Q1 2017. Nokia Technologies, handling the patents, made a 274-million-euro profit, while in 2017 the profit reached 116 million euros.

Nokia's total turnover declined to 4.9 billion euros from 5.3 billion euros last year.

At the Helsinki stock exchange, the value of Nokia stock declined by six percent soon after trading started on Thursday.

In its commentary, a Finnish language newspaper Helsingin Sanomat said Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri did not explain the weak Q1, but expressed confidence in stabilization later this year.