Nokia Indicates its 5G Spending Drought Might be Near an End

Nokia Oyj’s fourth-quarter results showed signs of improvement in its mobile telecoms equipment unit after a period of low spending by operators.

The Espoo, Finland-based company’s net sales rose to €5.98 billion ($6.2 billion) in the fourth quarter, 10% higher than in the same quarter from a year earlier, it said in a statement on Thursday. Analysts had been expecting sales of €5.74 billion, according to an average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The figures were driven mostly by an increase in the network infrastructure unit, which accounts for roughly a third of its sales and an 86% increase it its high-margin patent licensing division, Nokia Technologies.