Nokia Sees Second-Half Business Rebound, Stock Rises

American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Nokia (NOK) advanced in intraday trading Thursday after the Finland-based telecom said it sees business rebounding in the second half of the year.

Nokia joined Swedish rival Ericsson (ERIC), which earlier this week also expressed optimism about a second-half sales recovery. 

“We have seen continued improvement in order intake, meaning we remain confident in a stronger second half and achieving our full year outlook,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pekka Lundmark said in the earnings statement.

Nokia said Thursday that it expects its network infrastructure unit will return to growth in the last six months of 2024, and it will meet its full-year comparable operating profit outlook of between 2.30 billion euros ($2.45 billion) and 2.90 billion euros ($3.09 billion).

In the first quarter, the company posted comparable diluted earnings per share (EPS) of EUR0.09, better than expected. However, the 20% slump in sales to EUR4.67 billion missed consensus estimates.

Nokia reported a 37% slump in mobile network sales for the quarter, blaming “particularly low levels of spending in North America and India.”

Nokia ADRs were up 2.9% around 1 p.m. ET to $3.42 and are flat on the year.