Nokia on Thursday published a strong set of fourth quarter results driven by LTE network deployments at major North American customers.
The Finnish kit maker’s revenue grew 9% on-year to €3.8 billion in the three months to 31 December, while non-IFRS operating profit grew 28% to €524 million. Profit attributable to equity holders came in at €443 million, compared to an €18 million loss in Q4 2013.
"The power of the new Nokia could be seen in our fourth quarter results. All of our businesses delivered strong year-on-year net sales growth," said Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri, in a statement.
Its closely-watched Networks division, which accounts for the vast majority of Nokia’s revenue, generated fourth quarter net sales of €3.4 billion, an increase of 8% on last year. Its operating profit grew 35% to €470 million.
The strong performance was driven by North America, where Networks revenue increased 95% on-year to €514 million, which Nokia attributed to "LTE network deployments at major customers."
Nokia’s North America results lie in stark contrast to rival Ericsson’s, which reported a 5% decline in sales from the region as customers completed their network deployments and focused instead on capacity upgrades and allocating funds for acquisitions and spectrum auctions.
Elsewhere, the performance of Nokia’s Networks division was more modest. Sales in Europe were up 4%, as were sales in the Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific revenue was more or less flat at €915 million, while revenue in Greater China and Latin America fell by 3% and 9% respectively.
Meanwhile, Nokia’s Here mapping division saw fourth quarter revenue climb 15% to €292 million, and its intellectual property unit, Technology, generated revenue of €149 million, up from €121 million in Q4 2013.
"Looking ahead…we see 2015 as a year of execution," said Suri. "We are already moving fast, with Here sharpening its strategic focus, Nokia Technology accelerating its licensing and innovation activities, and Nokia Networks increasing its momentum in growth areas including virtualisation and telco cloud."
