FILE PHOTO: New Nokia's logo is displayed before GSMA's 2023 ahead of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain February 26, 2023. REUTERS/ Albert Gea/File photo
(Reuters) -Nokia expects the second half of 2025 to be stronger than the first, CEO Justin Hotard said on Thursday, two days after the network equipment maker issued a profit warning due to a weaker U.S. dollar and tariffs.
"Considering these two headwinds, we decided it was prudent at this point to lower our comparable operating profit outlook," Hotard said in a statement.
Nokia's shares fell 7.6% on Wednesday after the profit warning the night before.
Hotard said on Thursday that the company would continue to invest in connectivity to capitalise on the growth of artificial intelligence, targeting communication service providers but also new areas such as defence and national security.
Hotard, who was previously the head of Intel's AI and data centre business, took the CEO position in April and pledged to capitalise on AI, defence and private networks.
A decade ago, the Finnish firm had moved away from its once-dominant mobile phone business, which made it a household name thanks to its 3310 model, to focus on telecoms infrastructure serving carriers and enterprise clients.
Nokia also confirmed the preliminary figures for the second quarter, which had missed market expectations on Tuesday.
Its operating profit, which excludes certain charges and asset revaluations to make it comparable with last year's results, fell 29% to 301 million euros ($354.34 million) in the quarter, while revenue grew marginally to 4.55 billion euros.
($1 = 0.8495 euros)
(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
