25th Jul 2019
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finnish telecom network equipment maker Nokia posted a surprise jump in second-quarter profit on Thursday and stuck to its 2019 earnings outlook as demand for next-generation 5G equipment boosted results.
Despite what the company called a slow start to 2019 and an overall weak first half, it expects a strong fourth quarter as customer demand for 5G kit increases. Shares in the company jumped 6.8% in initial trading.
“Demand is strong in lead 5G markets, US and Korea,” CEO Rajeev Suri told a conference call, adding the market for new technology would start this year in Japan, the Middle East, China, the Nordics, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Nokia said it now has 45 commercial 5G deals and 9 live networks but also echoed comments from rival Ericsson on increasing competition as companies look to grab share in the early roll out of 5G.