STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Nokia on Thursday reported quarterly operating profit below market expectations even as the Finnish telecom equipment maker continues to benefit from strong demand from phone companies as they roll out 5G.
Third-quarter comparable operating profit rose to 658 million euros ($643.3 million) from 633 million last year, lagging the 690.6 million euro mean forecast of 10 analysts polled by Refinitiv.
Net sales grew 6% in constant currency in the quarter compared to the same period a year ago to 6.24 billion euros, beating estimates of 6.06 billion.
Apart from growing demand from telecom clients in the U.S. and Europe, Nokia and rival Ericsson also got big contracts from Indian telecom operators for the launch of 5G in that country.
($1 = 1.0229 euros)
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen, editing by Terje Solsvik)
