Nokia revealed today that it had a profit of 463 million euros in the third quarter of this year, against a positive result of 305 million euros in the same quarter of the previous year, according to Lusa news agency.

The Nordic cell phone and fixed-line equipment maker's profit came in above analysts' forecasts, which the multinational justified with increased sales of 5G technology (fifth generation mobile networks) at reduced prices.

However, not everything went smoothly for Nokia. A global shortage of semiconductors made the market outlook "cloudy," which would compromise the company's growth.  

The company, based in Espoo, Finland, also said that sales increased 2% in the quarter under review.

CEO Pekka Lundmark felt that the third quarter results show that the company "had another great quarter" driven by investments in 5G technology.

However, he stressed that the uncertainty surrounding semiconductors limited "growth prospects for the fourth quarter and even for next year."

"We could have grown faster (in the third quarter) if there were enough components available," Lundmark said in a video conference call with reporters, adding that Nokia was working "closely" with suppliers and customers to solve the semiconductor supply problem.

The manager has promised to make Nokia the world leader in 5G, new generation broadband technology even if it means sacrificing profit in the short term.

Nokia is in strong competition in 5G, namely, with Ericsson, Huawei and Samsung.

Source: Lusa