Nokia reports operating profit and sales up in 2006

Nordic Business Report, Jan 25, 2007

NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT-25 January 2007-Nokia reports operating profit and sales up in 2006(C)1994-2007 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com

Finnish telecomms solutions provider Nokia (NYSE: NOK) reported on Thursday (25 January) an operating profit of EUR5.49bn on net sales of EUR41.1bn for the financial year 2006.

Both operating profit and net sales for the 12-month period increased, respectively from EUR4.64bn and EUR34.2bn, as compared to 2005.

Nokia mobile device volumes reached a record 347 million units, an increase of 31%, resulting in an estimated market share of 36%. Market volume for the same period was estimated at 978 million units, an increase of 23%.

Mobile Phones net sales in 2006 increased by 20% to EUR24.7bn from EUR20.8bn in 2005, while operating profit increased to EUR4.10bn from EUR3.60bn.

Multimedia net sales increased by 32% to EUR7.88bn from EUR5.99bn in 2005, and operating profit improved to EUR1.32bn from EUR836m a year ago.

Enterprise Solutions net sales grew 20% to EUR1.03bn from EUR861m, while the operating loss stayed at EUR258m.

Networks net sales in 2006 increased by 14% to EUR7.45bn from EUR6.56bn in 2005, while the operating profit decreased from EUR836m to EUR808m.

Operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2006 amounted to EUR1.52bn on net sales of EUR11.7bn. Both operating profit and net sales for the quarter increased, respectively from EUR1.36bn and EUR10.3bn, as compared to the corresponding period in 2005.

The company's fourth quarter mobile device volume increased by 19% to 106 million units, resulting in an estimated market share of 36%.

Earnings per share (EPS) in the fourth quarter of 2006 amounted to EUR0.32, while the full-year EPS increased to EUR1.05 from EUR0.83 in 2005.

Operating margin for the full year decreased to 13.3% from 13.6% in 2005.

Nokia's board of directors will propose a dividend of EUR0.43 per share for 2006, as compared to EUR0.37 per share for 2005.

Nokia expects industry mobile device volumes in the first quarter of 2007 to reflect normal industry seasonality following a strong fourth quarter 2006 selling period. The company's device market share in the first quarter of 2007 is expected to be at approximately the same level sequentially.

Nokia expects industry mobile device volumes in 2007 to grow by up to 10%. The company also continues to expect slight growth in the mobile and fixed infrastructure and related services market in euro terms in 2007.

Nokia, headquartered in Espoo in Finland, is a global mobile phone and network equipment manufacturer. It has some 65,324 employees worldwide. Nokia is listed on the Helsinki, Stockholm, Frankfurt and New York stock exchanges.

One British pound (GBP) is worth approximately 1.49 euros (EUR).

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