Nokia estimated it took a €500 million short-term hit due to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic which, combined with a decline in China, led to a revenue dip in outgoing boss Rajeev Suri’s (pictured) final results announcement.

The Finnish vendor posted revenue of €5.1 billion, down 11 per cent year-on-year, although it did swing to a profit of €85 million from a €191 million loss.

Suri, who will hand the reins to incoming boss Pekka Lundmark from tomorrow (1 August), said the company delivered “better than expected profitability”, with clear indications of “a return to strength in mobile radio”.

Bit it had to factor in the effects of the health pandemic, which hit net sales in the quarter by approximately €300 million, adding to a €200 million impact in Q1.

On revenue, Suri said it expected the majority of sales missed in the quarter due to Covid-19 would shift to future periods, while the decline in China was based “on the prudent approach we have taken in that market”.

“We also saw a reduction driven by our proactive steps to reduce the volume of low margin services business,” he explained.

Optimism
Net sales from its Networks business dropped 10 per cent to €4 billion. There were also declines across its other units, with Software down 10 per cent to €597 million and Technologies 12 per cent lower at €341 million.

For Networks and Software, the company said it underperformed due to lower infrastructure deployment services within mobile access and increased competition, however it expects an uplift at the end of the year as 5G demand increases.

Suri added the company continues to make progress in mobile access, explaining it made improvements with its radio portfolio, where roadmaps “are strengthening, costs are coming down and product performance is rising”.