HELSINKI: Aided by cost cutting and its purchase of Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Corp. (NOK) reported a narrower decline in fourth-quarter profits than Wall Street had expected but posted a wider decline in network equipment sales.
Earlier Thursday, Finland-based telecom equipment maker Nokia reported net profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31 of 633 million euros, which is lower than the 1.79 billion euros it reported in the year-earlier fourth quarter. Analysts had expected Nokia to report net profit of 404 million euros, according to FactSet. The network business saw a 14% decline in sales, with was wider than what analysts were expecting.
The losses in the business were offset by cost reductions and synergies from the integration of Alcatel-Lucent into Nokia. The company also saw good growth in its submarine cable business. Revenue came in at 6.64 billion euros, which is lower than the 6.77 billion euros analysts were looking for.