HELSINKI, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Finnish telecommunications equipment maker Nokia reported on Thursday a 10-percent year-on-year increase in third-quarter net sales, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud infrastructure.
According to its interim financial report, Nokia's net sales reached 5.15 billion euros (5.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the July-September period, up from 4.7 billion euros (5.26 billion U.S. dollars) a year earlier. On a constant currency basis, sales grew 9 percent.
Comparable operating profit rose 35 percent year-on-year to 605 million euros (677.42 million U.S. dollars), while reported operating profit declined 22 percent to 196 million euros (219.46 million U.S. dollars), reflecting higher restructuring and integration costs.
Growth was particularly strong in Nokia's Network Infrastructure division, where net sales increased 15 percent on a constant currency basis, led by a 43-percent increase in IP Networks and an 18-percent rise in Optical Networks.
The company said net sales to AI and cloud customers jumped 123 percent year-on-year, while order intake surged 118 percent, with new orders totaling 1.5 billion euros (1.68 billion U.S. dollars) during the quarter.
Nokia President and CEO Justin Hotard said the company expects its combined Optical and IP Networks businesses to grow between 25 percent and 30 percent in 2027, citing growing demand for AI infrastructure that is becoming "larger, more distributed and hyperconnected."
Hotard also noted that Nokia, together with T-Mobile and NVIDIA, had completed what the company described as the world's first AI radio access network (AI-RAN) call on a live operator network, marking progress toward commercial deployment of AI-powered mobile networks.
Nokia maintained its full-year 2026 outlook, forecasting comparable operating profit of between 2.1 billion and 2.6 billion euros (2.35 billion and 2.91 billion U.S. dollars).
Despite the stronger earnings, Nokia shares fell in Helsinki on Thursday, declining around 3 percent by midday, according to Finnish business daily Kauppalehti. The newspaper attributed the market reaction partly to weaker-than-expected cash flow. ■