Nokia, a Finnish telecom equipment manufacturer, has benefitted from the quick 5G rollout in India. The vendor is helping both Jio and Airtel, two major telecom operators in India, with their 5G rollout. Because of that, Nokia posted net sales of 853 million euros in Q1 2023. On a YoY basis, this is 327% higher compared to the 200 million euros in Q1 2022. Indian telcos are rolling out 5G at a rapid pace, and it is, quite frankly, the fastest 5G rollout in the world. Being one of the major technology partners for the telcos, since the Chinese companies were shown the exit by the government, Nokia is benefitting a lot.
The Finnish telecom gear maker reported global net sales of 5859 million euros in Q1 2023, a 10% increase in global net sales from the 5384 million euros in the same period a year ago.
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"Network Infrastructure and Mobile Networks both grew at double-digit rates, with Network Infrastructure increasing 13 per cent, led by Optical Networks and IP Networks, and Mobile Networks increasing 13 per cent, reflecting the continued ramp up of 5G in India," Nokia said in its earnings report.
Nokia's business in North America and other geographies slowed down a little. It was India that offset the slowness in business in the other international markets for Nokia.
“Mobile Networks net sales grew 13% as 5G deployments in India ramped up, more than offsetting a slowdown in North America spending. As we expected, we are seeing greater seasonality between the first and second half of the year in terms of profitability for Mobile Networks,” said Pekka Lundmark, President & CEO, Nokia.
Due to the recessionary nature of the North American market as well as markets in some parts of Asia and Greater China, Nokia is witnessing lower customer spending.