Nokia financial report for Q4 and full year 2019

• Net cash of EUR 1.7 billion, driven by Q4 free cash flow of EUR 1.4 billion
• 5G deal momentum continues, with 66 commercial deals and 19 live networks
• Strong momentum in strategic focus areas of software and enterprise
• Year-on-year operational improvement expected over the course of 2020

This is a summary of the Nokia Corporation financial report for Q4 and full year 2019 published today. The complete financial report for Q4 and full year 2019 with tables is available at www.nokia.com/financials. 

RAJEEV SURI, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ON Q4 AND FULL YEAR 2019 RESULTS

Nokia’s fourth quarter 2019 results were a strong end to a challenging year. We saw strength in many parts of our business in the quarter, delivered a slightly better operating profit than the same period in 2018, generated solid free cash flow, and increased our net cash balance to EUR 1.7 billion.

When I look at Nokia’s full-year 2019 performance, we saw good progress in our strategic focus areas of enterprise and software. Nokia Enterprise delivered exceedingly well on its target of double-digit sales growth, considerably outpacing the market. Nokia Software showed its long-term promise, with exceptional profitability expansion compared to 2018. In addition, IP Routing continued its remarkable momentum, gaining significant share and increasing profitability in a difficult market; and Nokia Technologies continued to generate robust profitability.

We recognize, however, that we have faced challenges in Mobile Access and in cash generation. We will have a sharp focus on these two areas over the course of 2020, which we believe to be a year of progressive improvement as the actions we have underway start to deliver results. In Mobile Access, we expect improvements to be driven by increasing shipments of our “5G Powered by ReefShark” portfolio; product cost reductions; better commercial management; and strengthened operational performance in services. 

In terms of cash generation, we have extensive operational actions underway to improve performance. As we noted in our third quarter announcement, our Board said it expects to resume dividend distributions after Nokia’s net cash position increases to approximately EUR 2 billion. Given typical cash seasonality, we would not expect to reach that level in the first three quarters of this year. Should we exceed the EUR 2 billion level after that point, the Board will assess the possibility of proposing a dividend distribution for financial year 2020.

While I believe that 2020 will present its share of challenges, I am confident that we are taking the right steps to deliver progressive improvement over the course of this year and to position us for a stronger 2021.

Full press release here