Nokia Reports Significant Q4 Sales and Profit Drop, Announces Share Buyback

Despite challenging conditions expected to persist into H1 2024, company anticipates pickup in H2 due to network infrastructure business and cost-cutting measures.

Nokia reported a significant drop in sales and profit for Q4 2023, with net sales falling 23% year-on-year to $6.1 billion and adjusted earnings landing at $0.11 per diluted share, down from $0.16 per share in the year-ago report.
The company attributes the weak financial performance to limited orders from North American clients due to the inflation crisis and a slowdown in the deployment of 5G networks in India.
Despite the weak financial numbers, Nokia's operating margins widened in two of the three main business divisions, and the company reported a significant improvement in order intake in Q4, particularly in Network Infrastructure.
Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark announced a €600 million share buyback program to be rolled out over the next two years, despite acknowledging that the challenging environment of 2023 is likely to persist into the first half of 2024.
Nokia expects the challenging environment to continue during the first half of 2024, but anticipates a pickup in the second half of the year as its internet network infrastructure business brings in sales and cost-cutting measures pay off.