The Finnish telecoms equipment maker said on Thursday its fourth-quarter profit grew by 7 percent to 1 billion euros from the previous year, helped along by a patent payment from China’s Huawei.
The company’s sales totalled 6.7 billion euros in the fourth quarter and 23.2 billion euros in full year 2017 as the firm’s technology unit received a boost from new licensing agreements, in particular. Patents have become an important part of Nokia's business since it transitioned away from handset manufacturing.
On the other hand, the networks business fared less well in a competitive environment where the company’s market share is expected to decline further this year, according to the Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri's comments in the company's press release.
However in 2019 and 2020, Suri said conditions should improve driven by the rollouts of 5G networks.
Nokia's board proposed a dividend of 19 cents per share in October and Suri said the company is committed to paying a growing dividend this year too.
