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Nokia
Company Profile
Copyright 2019, Faulkner Information
Services. All Rights Reserved.
Docid: 00016297
Publication Date: 1909
Report Type: VENDOR
Preview
Nokia has spent the last several years in search of an
identity and successful strategy, most notably by selling its mobile
phone business to Microsoft in 2013 and
acquiring telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent in
2016, a move that greatly extended the company’s reach, especially in
the United States. The merged company has been focusing on technology
for mobile networks, especially 5G hardware, a focus that is now at the
center of its strategy. This report discusses the potential risks and
benefits of Nokia’s recent changes and explains its current strategy.
Report Contents:
Fast Facts
[return to top of this report]
Name: Nokia Group (NOK)
Headquarters
Karaportti 3
P.O. Box 226
FIN-00045 Nokia Group
Espoo, Finland
Phone: +358 (0) 10 44 88 000
Fax: +358 (0) 10 44 81 002
Web: http://www.nokia.com/
Type of Vendor: Telecommunications
Software and Services
Founded: 1865
Service Areas: Global
Stock Symbol: NOK (NYSE)
Profile
[return to top of this report]
Nokia has spent the past few years making major changes, the
latest of which is its acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent, which closed in
January 2016 but did not reach full completion until November of that
year.
The deal aims to create a company that has a large global
reach and substantial product development capabilities, with a focus on
equipment for carrier mobile networks. The combined company is based in
Nokia’s home country of Finland and is led by CEO Rajeev Suri.
In 2015, to help narrow its focus ahead of the merger, Nokia
sold its HERE mapping and location business to a group of automakers.
The company summarized the thinking behind this and
other moves
in a 2016 press release: “Following the integration of the
former Nokia Siemens Networks, the divestment of Nokia’s Devices
& Services business, the sale of HERE and the acquisition of
Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia is now a business focused on network equipment
and wireless technology.”1
Since then, Nokia has continued to operate its Nokia Networks
business unit, one of the largest telecom equipment providers in the
world, as well as its Nokia Technologies, which focuses on advanced
technology and licensing.
Although the company had been officially out of the
smartphone business since selling its mobile phone business assets to
Microsoft, CEO Suri announced in late 2015 that the organization had
plans to make a return to the industry with an all-new line of
smartphone and feature phone devices. Since then, the company has
relaunched its Nokia 3310. More recently, Nokia re-entered the
smartphone arena with the Nokia 8, its first Android-powered unit since
the Microsoft sale.
History & Milestone Events
The Nokia name came into being in 1865, when mining engineer
Fredrik Idestam established a forest industry enterprise in
southwestern Finland named after the Nokia River upon which it operated
a groundwood mill. In 1966, Nokia merged with Finnish Rubber Works
Limited and Finnish Cable Works. During the 1980s, Nokia established a
stronghold in both the telecommunications and consumer electronics
markets and has since evolved into a formidable international
telecommunications industry player. Major acquisitions included Salora
and Luxor in 1984, Standard Elektrik Lorenz consumer electronic
operations in 1987, NEFF in 1989, and Rooftop Communications in 1999.
- 1982 – Introduces the first
fully digitalized local
exchange in Europe. - 1984 – Rolls out the first
portable Nordic Mobile
Telephone (NOT) car telephone. - 1986 – Introduces a NOT
cellular mobile exchange. - 1987 – Releases the first NOT
pocket phone. - 1990 – Introduces of the
first Radio Data Systems
(REDS) pager. - 1992 – Debuts its first GSM
hand portable phone. - 1994 – Introduces its digital
Cellular Data Card,
which connects a GSM phone to a portable computer enabling wireless
transmission of e-mail, fax, and data files. - 1995 – Launches the smallest
base station for
GSM/DOS cellular mobile networks, called Nokia PrimeSite. - 1996 – Signs an agreement to
divest its remaining
television-related business. - 1998 – Introduces a handheld
communicator combining
phone, fax, Internet connectivity, and messaging. - 1999 – Introduces the
wireless application protocol
(WAP), which enables the fast transfer of Internet data to cellular
phones. - 1999 – Introduces of
MediaScreen, which combines
television, Internet, and mobile phone technology. - 2000 – Reaches an agreement,
with AT&T Wireless,
to implement third generation networks in the US. - 2001 – Merges its
subsidiaries in Finland, including
Nokia Mobile Phones and Nokia Networks Oy, into Nokia. - 2003 – Combines its four
joint ventures in China to
create a new company; begins production of CDMA mobile phones in the
country. - 2004 – Begins building
handsets and other mobile
devices in a plant in India, to meet increased regional demand. - 2005 – Creates a unit within
its Networks group to
provide operators with professional services, including integration,
consulting, and managed services. - 2006 – Appoints former CFO
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo as
CEO. - 2007 – Launches joint venture
company Nokia Siemens
Networks, a 50-50 joint venture that merges Nokia’s mobile networking
unit with Siemens’ mobile and fixed-carrier business. - 2008 – Makes a voluntary
public tender offer for
Trolltech, an Oslo, Norway-based provider of software development
platforms and frameworks. - 2010 – Files suit
against Apple in US District
Court, alleging that Apple’s iPhone and iPad 3G products infringe on
Nokia patents. - 2011 – Forged a partnership
with Microsoft to develop
a new generation of smartphones based on the Windows Phone platform. - 2013 – Bought out partner
Siemens and took full
ownership of Nokia Siemens Networks, which it renamed Nokia Solutions
and Networks. Agreed to sell its Devices & Services business to
Microsoft. - 2015 – Announces agreement to
buy Alcatel-Lucent.
Sells HERE mapping and location service. - 2016 – Completes acquisition
of Alcatel-Lucent. - 2017 – Unveils a trio of
smartphone devices, marking its first entries into the market since
selling the Devices & Services business to Microsoft. Later in
the year, Nokia announces the signing of a business collaboration and
patent cross-licensing agreement with Xiaomi. - 2018 – Reached a $3.5 billion
deal to provide 5G technology for T-Mobile’s wireless network.
Strategy
[return to top of this report]
A few years after selling its phone business, Nokia appears to still be
reformulating its strategy. For example, even after plans to acquire
Alcatel-Lucent were first announced, the company took actions that made
how
it views itself and its future goals difficult to discern. This seeming
indecisiveness began with reports in June 2015 that the company would
be getting back into the phone
business that it had left just two years earlier.2
Also, in
2015, the company released a “virtual reality camera,” OZO,
which it
described as being “the first in a planned portfolio of digital media
solutions.”3
The merger with Alcatel-Lucent follows the 2013 sale of the
company’s Devices & Services business to Microsoft. That move
took the company out of the consumer handset market, which accounted
for about half of its revenues. At the time, the sale was assessed as
enabling Nokia to focus on the following businesses: its HERE mapping
service, the Advanced Technology group, and Networks (formerly Nokia
Solutions and Networks). But now that HERE has been sold, the company’s
future looks much different, although the Networks business
unit, which is substantial, remains.
The size of the Alcatel-Lucent deal will likely require the
company to stick to its current strategy for the next several years to
provide the financial recovery needed. Continuing to make major course
corrections will probably not be feasible. Describing the merger, CEO
Rajeev Suri said, “Our innovation capability will be extraordinary,
bringing together the R&D engine of Nokia with that of
Alcatel-Lucent and its iconic Bell Labs….We have hugely complementary
technologies and the comprehensive portfolio necessary to enable the
internet of things and transition to the cloud. We will have a strong
presence in every part of the world, including leading positions in the
United States and China.”4 Cloud technology has
emerged as an increasingly important focus area for the company, under
the portfolio of Cloud-Wise Services. One part of this portfolio is the
company’s “Prime Integration Services,” through which it
designs “multi-vendor cloud networks” for customers.5
The company offers this service through the Cloud Design Center,
launched in 2016. In addition to design services, the company now
provides testing and monitoring services to help customers manage their
cloud environments.
The
company also offers a service for building hybrid clouds (which use
both public and private infrastructure) based on the OpenStack
Foundation’s platform. The service also uses software defined
networking technology provided by Nuage Networks. Nokia pushes the
services based on the concept that a customer can adopt the hybrid
cloud without replacing existing infrastructure.
Nokia is focused heavily on developing technology used in 5G
networks.6 Most prominently, in
2018, Nokia reached a $3.5 billion deal to provide 5G technology for
the network of wireless service provider T-Mobile. The Nokia technology
to be used includes “AirScale radio platforms and cloud-native core,
AirFrame hardware, CloudBand software, SON and 5G Acceleration
Services.”7
(The company’s AirScale technology
is designed to enable customers to build 5G-compatible networks.) The
Nokia and T-Mobile partnership aims to provides nationwide 5G coverage
throughout the US by 2020.8
Another
key focus of Nokia’s 5G efforts has been the concept called
“Industry 4.0.” A focus of many companies in many sectors, Industry 4.0
entails using technologies like AI and wireless with the expectation
that traditional manufacturing companies, supply chains, and other
industries and processes will be radically transformed. This
push into Industry 4.0 is still early, with projects such as one with
NTT DOCOMO and another with SMART (both in Asia) still in the trial
stage.9
Nokia’s
5G efforts are also focusing heavily on Massive Multiple Input Multiple
Output (Massive MIMO) technology, providing infrastructure such as
network antennas to enable carriers to increase mobile bandwidth
capacity. China Mobile and Sprint have each begun using Nokia’s
technology.10
Strengths
Market Presence – Nokia is still
a name recognized around the world, even if many people associate it
with the mobile phones that are no longer the company’s focus. An
example of how this strength can be used is that in 2016, Nokia
announced that it would license its brand name to a newly formed
company, HMD, which will offer phones and tablets.11
Simultaneously, Nokia’s own ability to evoke nostalgia by
simply supporting the launch of something like a revamped Nokia 3310
feature phone shows that the company’s branding still holds clout in
the mobile device industry.
Focus – The company has a fairly
narrow focus, which will help build its remaining business units and in
reforming following its merger with Alcatel-Lucent. Business unit Nokia
Networks is itself much more focused than it was just a few years ago,
having restructured to concentrate on a more select group of
technologies.
Improved Financial Position – In
selling its phone division, the company found a way to shed a troubled
business unit (which is not always easy to do), and it received a
significant amount of money in exchange. This improved its financial
position and gave it capital to invest in the remaining business units
and in the assets it owns following the Alcatel-Lucent merger.
Weaknesses
Nokia sold its Devices & Services business to Microsoft in
response to
problems: the company fell far behind Apple’s iPhone and behind devices
running Google’s Android operating system, so it decided to shed that
part
of its portfolio to focus on other products and services. But the sale
did
not solve all issues. The company now faces the challenge of
reforming
itself and building a profitable business out of only a portion of its
previous portfolio.
While the new focus is in some senses an advantage, it also
means that the company is now perhaps less influential than it
once was. While some have suggested that Nokia could once again fall
back on the low-cost mobile phone market that propped it up for so many
years, this arena has since become dominated by the likes of Xiaomi,
Huawei, and other Asian manufacturers, proving a tough climb for Nokia.
It remains to be seen how the company will fully employ the assets
gained in the Alcatel-Lucent deal.
Outlook
Nokia’s moves over the past few years have changed the
fundamental character of the company, so there is little hard evidence
on which to predict its prospects, and uncertainty remains. For
example, in
2016 Nokia acquired the digital health company Withings. Announcing its
plans to acquire the company, CEO Rajeev Suri called digital health “an
area of strategic interest” for Nokia.12 But
then in 2018,
Withings “bought itself back” from its former parent company,
reportedly because it wasn’t meeting growth goals.13
As Nokia works to define itself after major recent changes, ideas
such as investing in virtual reality and licensing its technology and
its brand names have been considered,14 but it
appears that
the company’s plans for the future are still taking shape.The continued
success or failure of Nokia will hinge primarily on two things: how
well it manages to integrate and exploit the massive assets provided by
Alcatel-Lucent (particularly Bell Labs) and how deeply it manages to
ingrain itself into the rollout of 5G technologies around the world. If
it becomes a major player in the next major network generational shift
(5G),
Nokia could regain its historical crown as a huge
player in the telecom industry. If, however, it misses out or bets on
the wrong 5G strategy, it may well face years of decline and shrinking
recognition.
Recent financial results suggest that the 5G strategy may be working,
as the company’s quarterly profits increased in July 2019, with the
growth attributed to sales of 5G hardware.15 The
growth led by 5G comes as the company continues to narrow its focus,
such as by selling its IP video business in early 2019.16
Product Lines
[return to top of this report]
Table 1 lists the product and services offered by Nokia, and
Table 2 lists those offered by business unit Nokia Networks.
Categories | Description |
---|---|
Advanced Technology |
Nokia Technologies focuses on researching and developing intellectual property. This business was created relatively recently and is still taking shape. One direction for the future may be developing new products in addition to its current focus on Nokia’s existing technology; in particular, it may continue performing research into graphene, a highly strong material that could have many applications in the future.17 Although this portion of the company was responsible for |
Product/Service | Description | Top Competitors |
---|---|---|
Cloud Technology |
||
Convergence/IMS | Convergence/IP Media Subsystems (IMS) products support voice and multimedia services over wireline, cable, and mobile access types. Products include:
Nokia in 2016 acquired Gainspeed, a maker of distributed |
Cisco, Ericsson, Motorola |
Customer Experience Management |
Nokia Networks offers both owned and third-party products and services for carriers to support their customers, including business and process consulting, systems integration, customization and optimization, such as:
|
Cisco, Ericsson, Motorola |
Dedicated Networks | Dedicated networks provide industry clients with their own network communications independent of the Internet. Systems are designed to support evolution from legacy TDM networks to fiber- and copper-based networks. Products include:
|
Cisco, Ericsson, Motorola |
Evolved Packet Core |
Evolved Packet Core systems are designed to enhance mobile broadband networks to support data usage over LTE or LTE-Advanced networks, as an evolution of existing 3G and 3GPP mobile networks. Product lines include:
|
Cisco, Ericsson, Motorola |
IP Partner Products | Nokia Networks partners with third-party hardware companies, such as switching, routing, timing over packet, and performance monitoring to provide carriers with systems integration. Partners have included Cisco, Juniper, Tellabs, Symmetricom, and Accedian Networks. |
Cisco, Ericsson, Motorola |
Mobile Broadband | Systems for mobile broadband connectivity include 4G devices, CDMA systems, GSM/EDGE systems, home WiFi,19 WCDMA/HSPA/HSPA+ systems, LTE, single RAN advanced, and WiMAX. |
Cisco, Ericsson, Motorola |
Operations Support Systems |
Both owned and third-party products and services to support a company’s operations, including Integration Center, NetAct, NetAct Advanced Monitor, NetAct Configurator, NetAct Core Networks Productivity Suite, NetAct Optimizer, Operations on Demand, Performance Manger. |
Cisco, Ericsson, Motorola |
Radio Access Technology | The AirScale family is designed to enable customers to create radio networks, such as for 5G communications or the Internet of Things. Components include the following:
|
Cisco, Ericsson |
Subscriber Data Management | Subscriber data management offerings help mobile providers to collect and analyze customer data to meet goals such as personalizing services. |
comScore Subscriber Analytix Marketing |
Service Enablement | Service consolidation, content, and location features across networks and devices include location-based services and Value Added Services as a Service (VaaS). |
Ericsson, Motorola |
Small Cells | Small cells are designed for small yet concentrated customer regions. Systems include Flexi Zone, Flexi Lite Base Station, Smart WLAN Connectivity, Femto, In Building Solution, and Service for HetNets. |
Ericsson, Motorola |
Transport Networks | Nokia Networks offers transport systems for IP and packet transport networks, including optical transport through networks, DWDN, multi-service platform provisioning, and packet optimized transport switches; carrier Ethernet switches; and microwave transport. |
Ericsson, Motorola |
Services | Nokia Networks offers services for telecom carriers and industry clients including:
|
Ericsson, Motorola |
Major Competitors
- Cisco Systems: http://www.cisco.com/
- Ericsson: http://www.ericsson.com/
- Google: http://www.google.com/
- Motorola: http://www.motorola.com/
Activity
[return to top of this report]
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures
Nokia announced the
successful completion of the sale of most of its IP Video
business to Volaris Group, a Toronto-based software maker. The
divestment, which was originally announced on September 13,
2018, will see Nokia remaining a minority stakeholder in the
Video IP business. The assets of that business will now be used
to found a new “pure play streaming technology company” dubbed
Velocix. This entity will operate as an independent business
within the Volaris Group’s Communications & Media portfolio. No
financial terms for the transaction were disclosed.
(01/03/2019)
Nokia revealed that it
has reached an agreement with Volaris Group Inc to sell its IP
Video business. Under the terms of the deal, a “substantial part”
of Nokia’s video product portfolio and IP Video employees will
transition to Velocix, a new independent pure play streaming
technology company in Volaris’ Communications & Media portfolio.
Following the transaction, Nokia will be a minority shareholder
in Velocix, as well as a global channel partner. The agreement is
expected to close some time during the fourth quarter of Nokia’s
2018 fiscal year. No financial terms for the transaction were
disclosed.
(09/13/2018)
Products and Services
Nokia announced a
multi-year commitment of $750,000 to support the work of the
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The financial support
officially earns Nokia the status of IETF Global Host, the
highest recognized level of support. Its new status gives Nokia
the ability to “work closely with the IETF community over
multiple years,” including serving as the “host for the upcoming
IETF 106 meeting to be held on November 16-22, 2019 in
Singapore.” Alissa Cooper, Chair of the IETF released a statement
on the donation, saying “Nokia’s support will help extend the
IETF’s long tradition of bringing together a diverse technical
community around work that embodies innovation, technical
excellence and practical relevance, and results in standards that
make the Internet work better.”
(03/20/2019)
Nokia signed an
agreement with Vodafone Idea Limited to expand that company’s
LTE coverage into new areas of India. The multi-year deal will
see Nokia providing its MIMO, small cells, and Single RAN
Advanced solutions in an effort to provide high-bandwidth
applications and services. Vodafone Idea Limited is a joint
venture formed between Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, making
it the largest carrier in the country. The ultimate goal of the
project is to improve network reception and capacity in both
indoor and outdoor areas across the nation. No financial terms
for the agreement were disclosed.
(03/20/2019)
Nokia signed a five-year
contract with Jazz, a mobile carrier in Pakistan, to provide an
expansion of that company’s 4G network. Nokia will be called on
to provide its radio solutions in the central and southern Punjab
province as well as the Sindh and Baluchistan provinces. Metro
areas serviced by the new expansion will include Faisalabad,
Multan, Bhawalpur, Rahimyar Khan, and Sukkur. Jazz is currently
the largest wireless service provider in the country, by
subscriber count. No financial terms for the contract were
disclosed.
(03/11/2019)
Nokia announced the
signing of a contract with US Cellular to provide that company
with “its end-to-end 5G technology, software and services
solutions” as part of the carrier’s forthcoming plans to roll out
a fifth generation network. Nokia said it will offer multiple
products for the project, including solutions from its software
and professional services portfolio which utilize its AirScale
radio platform and a cloud-based network architecture. This
signing follows a similar deal between US Cellular and Ericsson, which will also be
participating in the upcoming 5G buildout. No specific terms for
a timeframe for the contract or US Cellular’s 5G rollout were
disclosed.
(03/05/2019)
Sprint announced that it
recently worked with Nokia
and Qualcomm to
complete the “world’s first 5G data call.” This OTA
(over-the-air) transmission was conducted using 2.5GHz wireless
spectrum and massive MIMO (multiple-input / multiple-output)
technology on the carrier’s commercial network. The telco is
regarding this call as a “significant” milestone toward its
ultimate rollout of mobile 5G services in the first half of 2019.
The field test was launched over Sprint’s San Diego
infrastructure on a commercial 3GPP 5G New Radio network; it
employed Nokia’s dual-mode AirScale massive MIMO radio and a
Qualcomm Snapdragon modem and antenna modules. The call –
which included streaming YouTube video, Skype audio and video
calls, and incoming and outgoing IMs (instant messages) –
demonstrated what Sprint called a “seamless transition of
connectivity” between 4G LTE Advanced and 5G services. Further
info on
Sprint’s planned Next-Gen Network buildout and 5G plans is
available via the carrier’s Web site.
(01/14/2019)
Nokia announced that it
has signed framework agreements with three of the top telecom
operators in Asia. According to the company, it just inked a trio
of agreements with China Mobile, Chin
a Telecom, and China
Unicom. The deals are collectively worth more than EUR 2
billion, and call on Nokia to deliver radio and fixed access
equipment through the end of 2019. The contracts also include
requirements for IP routing and optical transport equipment; SDN
and network functions virtualization products; and services. The
goal of all three contracts is to increase the network speeds and
capacity of each carrier, while also introducing network
enhancements that will help the trio move towards eventual 5G
deployment.
(11/07/2018)
Nokia is rumored
to be preparing a phone that features five rear-set cameras. An
alleged photo of what The
Verge calls the “penta-lens” device has made its way online
in which it shows the rear of the model with an arrangement of
five lenses in a circle, presumably to improve options for
panoramic-style pictures. This image was attributed to HMD Global, the Finnish
company that licenses the rights to Nokia’s phones. Further
specifications and details were not made available.
(09/10/2018)
Alliances and Joint Ventures
IBM and Chainyard have announced the new Trust Your
Supplier (TYS) blockchain network. This network is built on the
IBM Blockchain Platform, hosted on the IBM Cloud, and designed
to help improve supplier qualification, validation, onboarding,
and lifecycle information management. TYS will also include
noteworthy “founding participants” such as Cisco Systems, Lenovo, Nokia, and Vodafone, among others.
The TYS network’s goal is to work toward “solving challenges
related to supplier information management”; it will benefit from
IBM industry expertise and Chainyard product capabilities,
alongside the contributions of other partners. TYS is currently
in “limited availability” with “existing participants,” with
plans for commercial availability expected “later in Quarter 3 of
2019.”
(08/05/2019)
Nokia signed a new
patent licensing agreement with OPPO, a Chinese smartphone and
mobile device maker. Under the terms of the agreement, OPPO will
pay an undisclosed amount to Nokia as part of a “multi-year
license period.” The specific intellectual property and patents
included in the deal remain confidential. However, Nokia’s
extensive patent catalogue would likely prove attractive to a
relatively young company such as OPPO, which has been climbing
the smartphone sales charts in recent years, and could be a prime
target for litigation from a competitor that felt the company did
not have the necessary licensing in place for the technologies in
was employing.
(11/27/2018)
Dell
EMC and Nokia have
established a public-private “smart-city” initiative as “lead
technology partners.” This alliance will allow the city of Delf,
Netherlands better employ “semi-autonomous, hydrogen-powered
barges” to accommodate “last mile transportation” in its
waterways. The collaboration will focus on reducing traffic while
also helping meet carbon emission, sustainability, and economic
development targets. The companies will work alongside Blue
Turtle Associates, Aratos Systems, Circle Lines, City Hub, SPIE,
the University of Delft, and the Province of South Holland
regional government to engage in a trial to create a Common
Information Space for Smart City Logistics.
(11/13/2018)
Nokia and Samsung have extended
their patent license agreement which was set to expire at the end
of 2018. The new deal extends the agreement from January 1, 2019
through an undisclosed multi-year period. No specific terms for
the extension were disclosed.
(10/25/2018)
Sprint and Nokia demonstrated new 5G NR
(New Radio) connection speeds using “Massive MIMO”
(multiple-input, multiple-output) technology. This live
demonstration included 5G NR over a “dual mode-capable” MIMO
radio, and used Sprint’s 2.5GHz spectrum; Nokia’s commercial
AirScale base station and Massive MIMO Active Antenna; and a
VIAVI TM500 5G test device emulator. The 5G NR system’s
antenna supports up to 120MHz of spectrum and delivers up to 3
Gbps peak downlink throughput for a single sector over 5G and
LTE, simultaneously, using Sprint’s spectrum. The development is
expected to allow Sprint to offer 4G LTE and 5G on the same
radio. Tests were conducted at Sprint’s booth during Mobile World
Congress Americas.
(10/08/2018)
Personnel and Organizational
Nokia announced the
appointment of Gabriela Styf Sjoman as the company’s new Chief
Strategy Officer and member of the Group Leadership team,
effective December 1, 2019. The new exec will succeed Kathrin
Buvac in the role. Buvac will continue in the role of President
of Nokia Enterprise and will remain a member of the Group
Leadership Team. Before joining Nokia, Sjoman was a long-time
employee of Telia Company in Sweden, where she has held
positions including Deputy Head of Global Services and Operations
and Head of Group Networks, and most recently Vice President
and Head of Group Network Services and Operations. The new
Chief Strategy Officer will report directly to President and
Chief Executive Officer, Rajeev Suri.
(08/22/2019)
Nokia announced a pair
of high-ranking appointments with the naming of Nassib
Abou-Khalil as Chief Legal Officer for Nokia and Jenni Lukander
as President of Nokia Technologies. The appointments, which are
effective August 19, 2019, will see both appointees reporting
directly to Nokia President and Chief Executive Officer, Rajeev
Suri, and becoming members of the Group Leadership Team. The
duo are succeeding Maria Varsellona in their respective rolls, as
she leaves the company at the end of October to take up a
position at ABB. Lukander comes to the role from her current
position as Head of the company’s Patent Business, while
Abou-Khalil is currently Deputy Chief Legal Officer, Business.
Lukander has been with the company since 2007, while Abou-Khalil
joined in 2014.
(06/19/2019)
Nokia announced a
significant reshuffling of its customer-facing organization
designed to better align the company for the “5G era.” Going
forward, Nokia’s customer-facing divisions will be divided into
two geographic groups: one covering the Americas and the other
responsible for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. This
shake-up will also come along with a change in leadership,
including the appointment of Ricky Corker as President of
Customer Operations, Americas; the appointment of Frederico
Guillen as President of Customer Operations, EMEA & Asia; and
the departure of Ashish Chowdhary, the current leader of all
Customer Operations, at the end of 2018. Chowdhary is a 15-year
veteran of Nokia who, according to Nokia President and Chief
Executive Officer, Rajeev Suri, has chosen to depart the company
to “try something new.” Corker comes to the new role from his
current position as Executive Vice President and President North
America, while Guillen is being promoted from the office of
President, Fixed Networks. All executive and structural changes
are effective January 1, 2019.
(11/13/2018)
Financials
Nokia published its
financial results for the second quarter of its 2019 fiscal year.
For the period, the company’s revenue reached EUR 5.69 billion
($6.35 billion), up from the EUR 5.31 billion ($5.93 billion)
posted for the year-ago quarter. Despite the growth, Nokia still
lost a net total of EUR 191 million ($213.4 million), although
this did actually represent an improvement over the EUR 271
million ($302.7 million) lost during the year-ago quarter.
Corresponding losses per share amounted to EUR 0.03 ($0.03),
versus the EUR 0.05 ($0.05) lost per share during the previous
second quarter. On these results, Nokia published guidance for
the full 2019 fiscal year, including expected earnings per share
of EUR 0.25 to 0.29 ($0.28 to $0.32)
(07/25/2019)
Nokia posted its financial
results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2018. For the
final period, the company’s revenue was EUR 6.86 billion ($7.85
billion), up from the previous fourth quarter’s EUR 6.65 billion
($7.61 billion) total. Operating income here was EUR 552 million
($632 million), or EUR 0.03 ($0.03) per share, compared to the
EUR 0.07 ($0.06) loss per share posted one year ago. For 2018,
Nokia reported revenues of EUR 22.56 billion ($25.58 billion),
down slightly from the EUR 23.15 billion ($26.52 billion)
reported for 2017. Profits for the year were EUR 2.18 billion
($2.49 billion), down from EUR 2.58 billion ($2.95 billion) for
the previous year. This translated to EPS of EUR 0.23 ($0.26),
down from last year’s EUR 0.33 ($0.38).
(01/31/2019)
Nokia posted its financial
results for the third quarter of its 2018 fiscal year. The
company’s revenue for the period was EUR 5.48 billion, very
slightly down from the EUR 5.5 billion posted one year ago.
Despite this, Nokia managed to shrink its net losses for the
quarter to EUR 54 million, a vast improvement over the EUR 230
million dropped during the year-ago quarter. On a per share
basis, the loss amounted to EUR 0.02, compared to the diluted
EUR 0.03 seen during the previous third quarter.
(10/25/2018)
References
1 “Nokia Celebrates First Day
of Combined Operations with Alcatel-Lucent.” Nokia. January 14, 2016.
2 Ewan Spence. “Nokia Announces New
Smartphone Plan for 2016.” Forbes. June 19, 2015.
3 “Nokia Announces OZO Virtual
Reality
Camera for Professional Content Creators.” Nokia. July 29,
2015.
4 “Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent to
Combine
to Create an Innovation Leader in Next Generation Technology and
Services for an IP Connected World.” Nokia. April 15,
2015.
5 “Nokia Accelerates Operators’
Move
to Multi-Vendor Cloud Networks with New Dedicated Facility and
Services.” Nokia.
September 15, 2016.
6 “Nokia President and CEO
Rajeev Suri Comments on the 5G Market at Annual General Meeting.” Nokia. May 21, 2019.
7 “T-Mobile and Nokia
Ink $3.5
billion, Multi-Year 5G Network Agreement.” Nokia. July 30,
2018.
8 Corinne Reichert. “T-Mobile Announces
5G Connection with Nokia.” ZDNet.
November 21, 2018.
9 See
“Nokia and Smart Set
Their Sights on Bringing Industry 4.0 to
Southeast Asia Following 5G ‘Standalone’ Trial.” Nokia. September 9,
2019.
“Nokia, NTT DOCOMO
and OMRON Bring 5G to the Factory Floor in Industry 4.0 Trial.” Nokia.
September 10, 2019.
10 See
“China Mobile First
to Deploy Nokia’s New Massive MIMO Solution, Accelerating the
Transition to 5G Services.” Nokia. June 26,
2019.
“Sprint and Nokia First to Demonstrate in the U.S. a 5G NR
Connection over Massive MIMO.” Nokia.
September 10, 2018.
11 "HMD Global Founded to Create
New
Generation of Nokia-Branded Mobile Phones and Tablets.”
HMD. May 18,
2016.
12 “Nokia Plans to Acquire Withings to
Accelerate Entry into Digital Health.” Nokia. April 26,
2016.
13 Dami Lee. “Withings Releases First
Smartwatch After Buying Itself Back from Nokia.” The Verge.
September 18, 2018.
14 “Nokia Focuses on Patent,
Brand and
Technology Licensing and Targets
Faster Growth in Digital Health with Sharpened Strategy for
Nokia Technologies.” Nokia.
October 10, 2017.
15 Tarmo Virki. “Nokia Beats Forecastsn
as 5G Sales Start to Kick In.” Nokia.
July 25, 2019.
16 “Nokia Completes the Sale of
Its IP Video Business.” Nokia. January 2, 2019.
17 “Nokia Patents Graphene-Based
Flexible Photon Battery.” Graphene-Info.
December 4, 2014.
18 “Nokia Completes Acquisition
of Gainspeed.” Nokia.
August 1, 2016.
19 “Nokia Adds New Products and
Features to Whole-Home WiFi Portfolio to Enhance Consumer Experience.” Nokia. July 9, 2019.
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