Nokia Q4 Sales Miss Consensus As Mobile Networks Decline 16%; Plans Dividend, Share Buyback

Nokia Oyj NOK reported a fourth-quarter FY21 net sales decline of 2% year-on-year (-5% in constant currency) to €6.4 billion, missing the consensus by €70 million.
Strong growth in Network Infrastructure of 10% was offset by Mobile Networks decline of 16%.
Margins: The gross margin expanded by 50 bps to 39.5%. Comparable gross margin contracted 150 bps to 40.1%.
The operating margin expanded 480 bps to 11.5%. Comparable operating margin contracted 190 bps to 14.2%.
Comparable EPS was €0.13, beating the consensus by €0.02.
Nokia held €6.69 billion in cash and equivalents and generated €0.4 billion in free cash flow.
Dividend & Share Buyback: The board proposed a dividend of €0.08 per share.
It approved a share buyback of €600 million over two years.
Outlook: Nokia sees FY22 net sales of €22.6 billion - €23.8 billion and a comparable operating margin of 11% - 13.5%.
Nokia announced its commitment to NGP Capital’s Fund V, a new $400 million venture fund catering to promising, growth-stage companies.
The fund emphasizes companies developing emerging 5G use cases for industrial and business transformation align closely with Nokia’s technology leadership vision and its efforts to maximize the value shift towards the cloud.
Price Action: NOK shares traded lower by 3.18% at $5.78 in the premarket session on the last check Thursday.

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