Nokia Q4 net sales dips 21% to 3.4 bn euros

Finnish firm Nokia today posted 21 per cent decline in topline at 3.47 billion euros as sales dipped across network equipment and location services in the October-December quarter of 2013.
This is against net sales of 4.41 billion euros in the same period last year.
This is the first quarterly financial report after Nokia announced sale of its handset business to software giant Microsoft in September last year for 5.44 billion euros.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.
Nokia's operating profit declined 17 per cent to 274 million euros in the reported quarter from 329 million euros in Q4 2012.

For 2013 (full year), Nokia saw net sales falling 17 per cent to 12.7 billion euros, while operating profit stood at 519 million.

Nokia Solutions and Networks, the telecom equipment arm, saw revenues declining 22 per cent to 3.1 billion euros in the said quarter from 3.98 billion in Q4 2012.
"The fourth quarter of 2013 was a watershed moment in Nokia's history ... We are diligently working towards defining Nokia's future direction.
"I am pleased with the progress we have made thus far in our strategy evaluation and excited by the opportunities ahead for each of our three continuing businesses: NSN, HERE and Advanced Technologies," Nokia Chairman and interim CEO Risto Siilasmaa said.

During the fourth quarter, Nokia's continuing businesses produced a healthy underlying operating margin of 12 per cent, Siilasmaa added.
"While the first quarter of the year is seasonally weak for our continuing operations, we continue to expect the closing of the Microsoft transaction to significantly improve Nokia's earnings profile," Siilasmaa said.
The devices and services business, which Nokia reported as discontinued operations, saw net sales falling 29 per cent to 2.6 billion euros in Q4 2013.
Net sales of Here (location services) and Advanced Technologies declined by nine per cent (254 million euros) and 20 per cent (121 million euros), respectively.

Nokia expects full year 2014 capital expenditures for continuing operations to be about 200 million euros, primarily attributable to NSN.