Nokia Q1 earnings report exceeds expectations, aided by 5G sales

Finnish telecoms equipment vendor Nokia reported on Thursday a better-than-expected Q1 financial report, with revenue and profit bolstered by a growth in 5G equipment sales.

According to the earnings report, quarterly revenues spiked at three percent to 5.08 billion euros ($6.16 billion), beating a consensus figure of 4.72 billion.

“We expect our typical quarterly earnings seasonality to be less pronounced in 2021,” Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark said in a statement, highlighting that sales growth was strong across its network infrastructure business.

The report noted that enterprise constant currency net sales were up by 18 percent year-on-year, as Nokia gained 63 new customers, more than doubling the number added in Q1 2020; with a reported net sale increase of 14 percent.

In parallel, the comparable gross margin of 38.2 percent (reported 37.9 percent), reflects improvements in Mobile Networks, “mainly driven by 5G growth and favorable product and regional mix, and broad improvements across Network Infrastructure.”

Lundmark, who has been at the helm since mid-last year, has shaped Nokia into a well-oiled machine by streamlining the company’s operations, cutting jobs, and actively worked to reverse previous product faux pas under the previous leadership that hurt its 5G ambitions and market share.

Nokia and Nordic rival Ericsson have been consistently increasing their market share within the framework of 5G, as operators around the world turn their backs on China’s tech titan Huawei following a U.S-China trade spat, ignited by the former Trump Administration.

Nokia forecast full year net sales of between 20.6 billion euros to 21.8 billion euros, largely in line with expectations of 21.28 billion euros.

Quarterly profit rose to 5-euro cents per share while adjusted profit was 7-euro cents per share. Analysts had expected 1-euro cents, according to IBES data from Reuters’ Refinitiv. Rival Ericsson last week reported quarterly core earnings above market estimates, helped by higher margins and 5G rollout in China.