Business recovery is slow Nokia (NOK.US) Q3 sales fall short of expectations

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Nokia (NOK.US) announced financial results for the third quarter of 2024. According to financial reports, Nokia's Q3 net sales were 4.326 billion euros, down 8% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations of 4.73 billion euros. Adjusted operating profit was €454 million, up 9% year over year; adjusted earnings per share were €0.06, compared to €0.05 in the same period last year.

The adjusted gross margin was 45.7%, an increase of 490 basis points over the same period last year. The adjusted operating margin was 10.5%, up 160 basis points from the same period last year, and better than the 9.5% generally expected by analysts.

By business segment, net sales of the network infrastructure business were 1,525 million euros, down 1% year on year; net sales of mobile network business were 1,747 million euros, down 19% year on year; net sales of cloud and network services business were 702 million euros, down 5% year on year; and net sales of Nokia technology business were 352 million euros, up 36% year on year.

Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark said: “I am optimistic that many of our businesses are improving, although some are still experiencing market weakness.” According to reports, the company “reached several important deals” in the mobile network sector in the third quarter.

Nokia has been working to diversify its customer base, most notably by acquiring Infinera Corp., which specializes in data center networking products, and selling its submarine cable division. Additionally, Nokia is also reportedly considering selling its mobile device division, although negotiations are still at a very early stage and may not reach a deal.

Looking ahead, Nokia still anticipates an adjusted operating profit of between €2.3 billion and €2.9 billion in 2024.