Finnish telecommunications equipment manufacturer Nokia Oyj has reported strong financial results for the second quarter, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing solutions. The company's net sales increased by 8 percent year-on-year, reaching 4.82 billion euros. The comparable operating profit increased by 18 percent to 434 million euros, while the operating margin improved to 9.0 percent. The main contribution to this growth was made by the network infrastructure segment, where sales increased by 12 percent due to the active development of optical and IP networks.

The report focuses on the rapid growth in revenue from customers working in the areas of artificial intelligence and cloud technologies. This indicator has more than doubled, showing an increase of 105 percent year-on-year. CEO Justin Hotard noted that the company is successfully capitalizing on the current technology cycle, with orders in this segment reaching 2.8 billion euros in the second quarter. At the same time, the final operating results were under pressure from accelerated restructuring costs, which resulted in an operating loss of 50 million euros compared to a profit a year earlier.

Despite the short-term costs, Nokia has confirmed its operating forecast for the current year, making technical adjustments due to the reclassification of two business lines as discontinued operations. The updated forecast for comparable operating profit ranges from 2.1 to 2.6 billion euros. Management expressed confidence that the company will be able to deliver results above the middle of this range, as about half of the current large orders are expected to be converted into revenue over the next twelve months.