Espoo, Finland – October 29, 2013Q3 2013 Net Sales of EUR 2.6 billion and Operating Margin Before Specific Items of 8.4%Financial Highlights:
Rajeev Suri, Chief Executive Officer of NSN: “I’m delighted with NSN’s continued strong performance in profitability and cash generation. In 2014, we will focus on strengthening our topline performance, with a particular focus on growth in LTE and Global Services.” For the full content of NSN’s Interim Report for Q3 2013 and January – September 2013, please visit: http://nsn.com/about-us/company/financial 1 Nokia Siemens Networks was renamed as Nokia Solutions and Networks, also referred to as NSN, and the terms “Nokia Solutions and Networks”, “NSN” and “Nokia Siemens Networks” can be used interchangeably in this interim report. 2 The figures presented on an NSN standalone basis in this Interim Report may differ from those reported by Nokia Corporation (‘Nokia’) due to the treatment of discontinued operations and certain accounting presentation differences. In addition, the presentation of underlying business performance information by Nokia and NSN differs due to presentation differences adopted by Nokia (non-IFRS information) and NSN (information before specific items) and the items excluded by each in their respective presentations. 3 The before specific items financial measures exclude specific items for all periods: restructuring charges, country/contract exit charges, purchase price accounting related charges and other one-time charges. For an analysis of specific items, refer to page 20 of the NSN Q3 2013 interim report. Operating and Financial Review: Key financials The figures presented on an NSN standalone basis in this Interim Report may differ from those reported by Nokia due to the treatment of discontinued operations and certain accounting presentation differences. In addition, the presentation of underlying business performance information by Nokia and NSN differs due to presentation differences adopted by Nokia (non-IFRS information) and NSN (information before specific items) and the items excluded by each in their respective presentations. The following table sets forth a summary of our results for the quarters indicated, in addition to the year-on-year and sequential growth rates.
1 References to EBITDA are to profit/loss for the period from continuing operations, before income tax expense, financial income and expenses, depreciation, amortization and share of results of associates. Accordingly, EBITDA can be extracted from the Consolidated Financial Statements by taking profit/(loss) for the period and adding back income tax expense, financial income and expenses, depreciation, amortization and share of results of associates. We are not presenting EBITDA or EBITDA-based measures as measures of our results of operations. EBITDA and EBITDA-based measures have important limitations as an analytical tool, and they should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our results of operations. Percentage point changes are denoted by ‘pp’ in the above table. Net sales The following table sets forth our net sales for the quarters presented in addition to the year-on-year and sequential growth rates by geographic area by location of customer:
The following tables set forth our net sales and operating profit/loss before specific items by segment for the quarters presented:
Percentage point changes are denoted by ‘pp’ in the above table. The year-on-year decrease of 24.0% in our net sales in the third quarter 2013 was partially due to divestments of businesses not consistent with our strategic focus as well as the exiting of certain customer contracts and countries. Excluding these two factors, our net sales in the third quarter 2013 declined by approximately 20% due to reduced wireless infrastructure deployment activity, which affected both Mobile Broadband and Global Services, and the negative effect of foreign currency fluctuations. The year-on-year decrease in Mobile Broadband was primarily due to lower sales in WCDMA, GSM and CDMA. Within Mobile Broadband, LTE was approximately flat year-on-year as higher sales in North America, Europe and Latin America offset lower LTE sales in Japan and Korea. On a constant currency basis*, our LTE net sales grew year-on-year. The year-on-year decrease in Global Services was primarily due to a reduction in network implementation activity, which is consistent with lower levels of large scale Mobile Broadband deployments, and the exiting of certain customer contracts in line with our strategic focus. On a regional basis, we had lower cyclical sales in Asia following high levels of operator spending a year ago. The year-on-year decline in Middle East and Africa was primarily due to country exits. The lower year-on-year sales in Europe were primarily related to network modernization and divestments in line with our strategy. The year-on-year sales decline in Latin America was driven by constrained operator spending and certain customer contract exits in line with our strategy. The sequential decrease of 6.1% in our net sales in the third quarter 2013 was partially due to the exiting of certain customer contracts and countries as well as the divestments of businesses not consistent with our strategic focus. Excluding these two factors, our net sales in the third quarter 2013 decreased by approximately 4%, primarily due to seasonality, which affected both Global Services and Mobile Broadband, and the negative effect of foreign currency fluctuations. The sequential decrease in Global Services net sales was primarily due to lower sales in professional services and customer care services, partially offset by higher sales in network implementation activity. The slight sequential decrease in Mobile Broadband net sales was primarily due to lower seasonal sales. On a regional basis, our net sales decline was primarily related to lower seasonal spending in Europe and lower investments from operators in Latin America. In the third quarter 2013, Global Services represented 51% of our net sales, compared to 50% in the third quarter 2012 and 53% in the second quarter 2013. In the third quarter 2013, Mobile Broadband represented 49% of our net sales, compared to 48% in the third quarter 2012 and 46% in the second quarter 2013. At constant currency*, our net sales would have decreased approximately 19% year-on-year and approximately 4% sequentially. *Excluding the impact of changes in exchange rates in comparison to the Euro, our reporting currency. Gross margin On a year-on-year basis, the increase in our gross margin before specific items in the third quarter 2013 was primarily due to a higher gross margin in Global Services related to significant efficiency improvements as a result of our restructuring program and the positive impact related to certain customer contract exits and the divestment of businesses which carried lower gross margin, partially offset by slightly lower gross margin in Mobile Broadband. On a sequential basis, the decrease in our gross margin before specific items in the third quarter 2013 was primarily due to lower gross margin in both Global Services and Mobile Broadband and the absence of non-recurring IPR income of EUR 17 million that was recognized in the second quarter 2013, partially offset by a better product mix due to a higher proportion of Mobile Broadband net sales. The lower gross margin in Global Services was primarily driven by lower seasonal sales and the absence of the revenue triggered by certain project acceptances which was recognized in the second quarter 2013. The gross margin decline in Mobile Broadband was primarily due to costs incurred in anticipation of a technology shift to TD-LTE related to major projects in China and lower seasonal sales. Operating expenses On a year-on-year and sequential basis, our research and development expenses before specific items were approximately flat in the third quarter 2013. On a year-on-year and sequential basis, our sales and marketing expenses before specific items decreased 17.8% and 9.5%, respectively, in the third quarter 2013 primarily due to personnel related and other structural cost savings from our transformation and restructuring program. Our general and administrative expenses before specific items increased 13.0% year-on-year and 0.8% sequentially in the third quarter 2013. On a year-on-year basis, general and administrative expenses before specific items were higher, primarily due to consultancy fees related to information technology and other projects. Our other income and expenses before specific items for the third quarter 2013 was income of EUR 2 million, compared to expense of EUR 4 million in the third quarter 2012, and income of EUR 29 million in the second quarter 2013. On a year-on-year basis, the change in other income and expenses before specific items was primarily due to a reduction in doubtful account allowances, partially offset by the negative effect of foreign currency fluctuations. On a sequential basis, the change was primarily due to positive impacts in the second quarter 2013 related to the gain on sale of real estate and the reduction in doubtful account allowances. Operating margin The year-on-year decrease in our operating margin before specific items, was primarily due to a lower operating margin in Mobile Broadband, partially offset by a higher operating margin in Global Services. On a year-on-year basis, the 13.4 percentage point decline in Mobile Broadband operating margin was primarily due to higher operating expenses as a percentage of net sales, and to a lesser extent by slightly lower gross margin. The year-on-year 9.6 percentage point increase in Global Services operating margin was primarily due to higher gross margin and lower operating expenses as a percentage of net sales. On a sequential basis, operating margin before specific items decreased due to lower operating margin for both Global Services and Mobile Broadband which declined by 2.4 and 3.8 percentage points, respectively. The sequential decline in Global Services and Mobile Broadband operating margin was primarily due to lower gross margin and, to a lesser extent, higher operating expenses as a percentage of net sales. On a year-on-year basis, our operating margin after specific items was approximately flat. The other income offset other expenses in the third quarter 2013, compared to an expense of EUR 9 million in the third quarter 2012. On a sequential basis, operating margin after specific items increased primarily due to lower restructuring related charges in the third quarter 2013. In the second and third quarters 2013, other income offset other expenses. Financial income and expenses In the third quarter 2013, we incurred a net gain in financial income and expenses of EUR 5 million compared to a net expense of EUR 96 million in the third quarter 2012 and a net expense of EUR 35 million in the second quarter 2013. Our financial income and expenses consisted of financial expenses of EUR 22 million (EUR 28 million in the third quarter 2012 and EUR 25 million in the second quarter 2013), primarily relating to interest expense on interest-bearing liabilities, and financial income of EUR 6 million (EUR 3 million in the third quarter 2012 and EUR 5 million in the second quarter 2013). Our other financial results consist primarily of net foreign exchange gains of EUR 24 million (losses of EUR 68 million in the third quarter 2012 and EUR 13 million in the second quarter 2013). The decrease in net foreign exchange losses compared to the second quarter 2013 is mainly due to a positive impact from unhedgeable currency risk and movements in foreign exchange rates. The net foreign exchange losses during the third quarter 2012 were mainly due to weakening of currencies that could not be hedged and the cost of hedging. Income tax expense In the third quarter 2013, we incurred income tax expense of EUR 78 million compared to EUR 56 million in the third quarter 2012. The income tax expense in the third quarter 2012 was lower due to the profit mix across the various jurisdictions where we pay income tax. In the second quarter 2013, we incurred an income tax expense of EUR 85 million. We periodically assess our unrecognized deferred tax assets. At the end of the third quarter 2013, we have a total of approximately EUR 1.7 billion unrecognized net deferred tax assets, of which approximately EUR 1.5 billion relate to Finland (calculated at 24.5% tax rate) and have not been recognized in the financial statements due to our history of losses in Finland. Our tax rate may vary significantly period to period and is impacted by the non-recognition of the Finnish deferred tax assets as well as the mix of profitability in our subsidiaries and payments of foreign withholding taxes in certain overseas jurisdictions. The majority of our Finnish deferred tax assets are indefinite in nature and available against future Finnish tax liabilities. There is a draft Government proposal to reduce the Finnish corporate tax rate to 20% from January 1, 2014 which would correspondingly reduce the amount of any recognizable net deferred tax assets in the future. Net profit Including the continued restructuring and other one-time charges recorded in the third quarter 2013, we reported net profit of EUR 97 million, up from EUR 34 million in the third quarter 2012 and a net loss of EUR 113 million in the second quarter 2013. Transformation and restructuring program Restructuring related charges and cash outflows The following table sets forth a summary of our cost reduction activities and planned operational adjustments.
We continue to target to reduce annualized operating expenses and production overheads, excluding specific items, by more than EUR 1.5 billion by the end of 2013, compared to the end of 2011. In conjunction with this restructuring program, we continue to estimate total restructuring related charges of approximately EUR 1.8 billion as well as total restructuring related cash outflows of approximately EUR 1.6 billion. Non-cash charges and timing differences account for the differences between the above charges and the corresponding cash out-flows. Changes in estimates of timing or amounts of costs to be incurred and associated cash flows may become necessary as the transformation and restructuring program is implemented. At the end of the third quarter 2013, we had approximately 49 100 employees, a reduction of approximately 11 500 compared to the end of the third quarter 2012, and approximately 1 400 compared to the end of the second quarter 2013. Q3 2013 Operating Highlights:
About NSN: Nokia Solutions and Networks is the world’s specialist in mobile broadband. From the first ever call on GSM, to the first call on LTE, we operate at the forefront of each generation of mobile technology. Our global experts invent the new capabilities our customers need in their networks. We provide the world’s most efficient mobile networks, the intelligence to maximize the value of those networks, and the services to make it all work seamlessly. With headquarters in Espoo, Finland, we operate in over 120 countries and had net sales of approximately 13.4 billion euros in 2012. NSN is wholly owned by Nokia Corporation. http://www.nsn.com. |