Nokia, a wireless and fixed-network equipment maker based in Espoo, Finland, has reported lower-than-expected profit and a significant double-digit decline in sales during the first quarter of the year. The market has been weakened due to clients’ lack of investment in 5G technology, which has affected the company’s net profit for the January-March period. Despite this, CEO Pekka Lundmark expressed confidence in achieving the full-year outlook, despite ongoing weakness in the telecom equipment market.
Nokia is a major player in the 5G technology space along with Ericsson, Huawei, and Samsung. Ericsson also reported similar market difficulties with a significant sales decline in the first quarter. Lundmark highlighted the order intake strength and expressed expectations for net sales growth in the Network Infrastructure unit for the full year. However, he also acknowledged that low spending on 5G technology in North America and India during the first quarter had affected Nokia’s mobile network unit negatively.
Lundmark remains optimistic about achieving better performance in the coming months and meeting Nokia’s full-year goals despite ongoing weaknesses in some markets. Despite these challenges, Lundmark believes that 5G technology will be a major driver of growth for telecom companies moving forward. He expects to see increased investment from clients as they start to recognize the potential benefits of 5G technology.