Nokia expects to revise upwards its 2021 financial guidance
Nokia CorporationInside information13 July 2021 at 9:00 EET
Nokia expects to revise upwards its
2021 financial guidance
Espoo, Finland – Nokia is today providing an update to its
financial guidance for full year 2021. In the second quarter Nokia
saw continued strength in the business, improving its expectations
for the full year. Nokia now expects to revise upwards its prior
outlook ranges for 2021. Nokia plans to provide full details on its
second quarter and half-year financial performance and revised full
year 2021 guidance on 29 July 2021.
The previous
outlook for 2021
(reiterated on 29 April
2021) was:
Net sales, adjusted for currency fluctuations1 |
€20.6bn to €21.8bn |
Comparable operating margin |
7 to 10% |
Free cash flow |
Positive |
Comparable ROIC |
10 to 15% |
1) Assuming continuation of 2020 year-end EUR/USD rate of
1.23.
“We are progressing well with our three-phased plan to achieve
sustainable, profitable growth and technology leadership laid out
at our Capital Markets Day in March. Our first half performance has
shown evidence of this in good cost control and also benefited from
strength in a number of our end markets. We continue to expect some
headwinds in the second half as we have previously highlighted but
our performance in the first half provides a good foundation for
the full year,” said Pekka Lundmark, Nokia President and CEO.
The company will release its second quarter and half year 2021
financial results on Thursday 29 July 2021.
Nokia will conduct a conference call with analysts and investors
to discuss its second quarter performance and business outlook on
29 July 2021 at 11:30am EET / 9:30am BST / 4:30am US EST.
About NokiaAt Nokia, we create technology that
helps the world act together.
As a trusted partner for critical networks, we are committed to
innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed and cloud
networks. We create value with intellectual property and long-term
research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.
Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we
help build the capabilities needed for a more productive,
sustainable and inclusive world.
Inquiries:
NokiaCommunicationsPhone: +358 10 448 4900Email:
press.services@nokia.comKatja Antila, Head of Media Relations
NokiaInvestor RelationsPhone: +358 40 803 4080Email:
investor.relations@nokia.com
Forward-looking statementsIt
should be noted that Nokia and its businesses are exposed to
various risks and uncertainties and certain statements herein that
are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements reflect Nokia's current expectations and
views of future developments and include statements regarding: A)
expectations, plans or benefits related to our strategies, growth
management and operational key performance indicators; B)
expectations, plans or benefits related to future performance of
our businesses (including the expected impact, timing and duration
of that impact of COVID-19 on our businesses, our supply chain and
our customers’ businesses) and any future dividends including
timing and qualitative and quantitative thresholds associated
therewith; C) expectations and targets regarding financial
performance, cash generation, results, the timing of receivables,
operating expenses, taxes, currency exchange rates, hedging, cost
savings, product cost reductions and competitiveness, as well as
results of operations including targeted synergies, better
commercial management and those results related to market share,
prices, net sales, income and margins; D) expectations, plans or
benefits related to changes in organizational and operational
structure; E) expectations regarding competition within our market,
market developments, general economic conditions and structural and
legal change globally and in national and regional markets, such as
China; F) our ability to integrate acquired businesses into our
operations and achieve the targeted business plans and benefits,
including targeted benefits, synergies, cost savings and
efficiencies; G) expectations, plans or benefits related to any
future collaboration or to business collaboration agreements or
patent license agreements or arbitration awards, including income
to be received under any collaboration or partnership, agreement or
award; H) timing of the deliveries of our products and services,
including our short term and longer term expectations around the
rollout of 5G, investment requirements with such rollout, and our
ability to capitalize on such rollout; I) expectations and targets
regarding collaboration and partnering arrangements, joint ventures
or the creation of joint ventures, and the related administrative,
legal, regulatory and other conditions, as well as our expected
customer reach; J) outcome of pending and threatened litigation,
arbitration, disputes, regulatory proceedings or investigations by
authorities; K) expectations regarding restructurings, investments,
capital structure optimization efforts, uses of proceeds from
transactions, acquisitions and divestments and our ability to
achieve the financial and operational targets set in connection
with any such restructurings, investments, capital structure
optimization efforts, divestments and acquisitions, including our
current cost savings program; L) expectations, plans or benefits
related to future capital expenditures, reduction of support
function costs, temporary incremental expenditures or other R&D
expenditures to develop or rollout software and other new products,
including 5G, ReefShark and increased digitalization; M)
expectations regarding our customers' future actions, including our
customers’ capital expenditure constraints and our ability to
satisfy customer’s needs and retain their business; and N)
statements preceded by or including “believe”, “expect”,
“expectations”, “deliver”, “maintain”, “strengthen”, “target”,
“estimate”, “plan”, “intend”, “assumption”, “focus”, “continue”,
“should", "will” or similar expressions. These forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many
of which are beyond our control, which could cause our actual
results to differ materially from such statements. These statements
are based on management’s best assumptions and beliefs in light of
the information currently available to them. These forward-looking
statements are only predictions based upon our current expectations
and views of future events and developments and are subject to
risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict because they
relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the
future. Factors, including risks and uncertainties that could cause
these differences include, but are not limited to: 1) our strategy
is subject to various risks and uncertainties and we may be unable
to successfully implement our strategic plans, sustain or improve
the operational and financial performance of our business groups,
correctly identify or successfully pursue business opportunities or
otherwise grow our business; 2) general economic and market
conditions, general public health conditions (including its impact
on our supply chains) and other developments in the economies where
we operate, including the timeline for the deployment of 5G and our
ability to successfully capitalize on that deployment; 3)
competition and our ability to effectively and profitably invest in
existing and new high-quality products, services, upgrades and
technologies and bring them to market in a timely manner; 4) our
dependence on the development of the industries in which we
operate, including the cyclicality and variability of the
information technology and telecommunications industries and our
own R&D capabilities and investments; 5) our dependence on a
limited number of customers and large multi-year agreements, as
well as external events impacting our customers including mergers
and acquisitions and the possibility of our customers awarding
business to our competitors; 6) our ability to maintain our
existing sources of intellectual property-related revenue through
our intellectual property, including through licensing,
establishing new sources of revenue and protecting our intellectual
property from infringement; 7) our ability to manage and improve
our financial and operating performance, cost savings,
competitiveness and synergies generally, expectations and timing
around our ability to recognize any net sales and our ability to
implement changes to our organizational and operational structure
efficiently; 8) our global business and exposure to regulatory,
political or other developments in various countries or regions,
including emerging markets and the associated risks in relation to
tax matters and exchange controls, among others; 9) our ability to
achieve the anticipated benefits, synergies, cost savings and
efficiencies of acquisitions; 10) exchange rate fluctuations, as
well as hedging activities; 11) our ability to successfully realize
the expectations, plans or benefits related to any future
collaboration or business collaboration agreements and patent
license agreements or arbitration awards, including income to be
received under any collaboration, partnership, agreement or
arbitration award; 12) Nokia Technologies' ability to protect its
IPR and to maintain and establish new sources of patent, brand and
technology licensing income and IPR-related revenues, particularly
in the smartphone market, which may not materialize as planned, 13)
our dependence on IPR technologies, including those that we have
developed and those that are licensed to us, and the risk of
associated IPR-related legal claims, licensing costs and
restrictions on use; 14) our exposure to direct and indirect
regulation, including economic or trade policies, and the
reliability of our governance, internal controls and compliance
processes to prevent regulatory penalties in our business or in our
joint ventures; 15) our reliance on third-party solutions for data
storage and service distribution, which expose us to risks relating
to security, regulation and cybersecurity breaches; 16)
inefficiencies, breaches, malfunctions or disruptions of
information technology systems, or our customers’ security
concerns; 17) our exposure to various legal frameworks regulating
corruption, fraud, trade policies, and other risk areas, and the
possibility of proceedings or investigations that result in fines,
penalties or sanctions; 18) adverse developments with respect to
customer financing or extended payment terms we provide to
customers; 19) the potential complex tax issues, tax disputes and
tax obligations we may face in various jurisdictions, including the
risk of obligations to pay additional taxes; 20) our actual or
anticipated performance, among other factors, which could reduce
our ability to utilize deferred tax assets; 21) our ability to
retain, motivate, develop and recruit appropriately skilled
employees; 22) disruptions to our manufacturing, service creation,
delivery, logistics and supply chain processes, our ability to
procure certain standard components such as semiconductors, and the
risks related to our production sites; 23) the impact of
litigation, arbitration, agreement-related disputes or product
liability allegations associated with our business; 24) our ability
to re-establish investment grade rating or maintain our credit
ratings; 25) our ability to achieve targeted benefits from, or
successfully implement planned transactions, as well as the
liabilities related thereto; 26) our involvement in joint ventures
and jointly-managed companies; 27) the carrying amount of our
goodwill may not be recoverable; 28) uncertainty related to the
amount of dividends and equity return (if any) we are able to
distribute to shareholders for each financial period; 29) pension
costs, employee fund-related costs, and healthcare costs; 30) our
ability to successfully complete and capitalize on our order
backlogs and continue converting our sales pipeline into net sales;
31) risks related to undersea infrastructure; and 32) the scope and
duration of the COVID-19 impact on the global economy and financial
markets as well as our customers, supply chain, product
development, service delivery, other operations and our financial,
tax, pension and other assets, and the shape of the economic
recovery following the pandemic as well as the risk factors
specified in our 2020 annual report on Form 20-F published on March
4, 2021 under "Operating and financial review and prospects-Risk
factors" and in our other filings or documents furnished with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Other unknown or
unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proven
to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially
from those in the forward-looking statements. We do not undertake
any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.