Nokia gains profits in Q2, core business recovers

Adjusted operating income totaled 175 million euros, compared to 136 million euros, a year ago.

Revenues within the division were boosted by a licensing agreement with LG – the first major smartphone manufacturing partner since Nokia sold its devices and services unit to Microsoft – that will see the Korean manufacturer licence 80 standards essential patents for Nokia technology.

Operating profit surged 51% to €521 million, while net profit came in at €347 million, compared to €2.5 billion in Q2 2014, when Nokia completed the sale of its handset business to Microsoft.

Nokia achieved an increased turnover and made a remarkable profit during the second quarter of 2015, the Finnish network technologies company said on Thursday.

“Nokia’s quarter was much better than expected on the operating margin and Alcatel’s performance was good as well”, Peterc said.

“We remain highly focused on reducing costs and improving efficiency in order to mitigate the impact of market conditions”, he said.

He didn’t comment on rumors that its maps unit was being sold to auto companies, but said that the “strategic review of that (HERE) business is now in an advanced stage” and that Nokia would focus on “the best interests of its shareholders and the long-term future of HERE”.

Network equipment sales increased 3% on last year to €1.39 billion, driven by ongoing demand for LTE.

“We now need companies to deliver on earnings” for the bull run in European equities to continue, UBS strategists said in a note released Thursday.

That was up from 281 million euros a year earlier, and well above analysts’ average forecast of a profit of 235 million and a margin of 8.3 percent, according to a Reuters poll. It has been designed as a tool for the virtual reality industry.

Nokia expects to finalise Alcatel-Lucent’s acquisition in the first half of 2016. “If it works out, we will be able to say Nokia has chosen the right strategy”, he said.

The Board of Directors of Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) has announced today the governance structure to lead the Group as it prepares for the proposed combination with Nokia.

Rautanen pointed out that uncertainty associated with the upcoming merger has been reflected in the price of the Nokia stock. Alcatel’s second-quarter revenue rose 5% to 3.45 billion euros helped by double-digit growth in so-called IP products that help telecom operators handle heavy video data traffic and direct internet.

Reporting its Q2 and H1 results, Telefónica announced revenues of €11,876, a reported improvement of 12.4 percent for the quarter.