Nokia Siemens Networks was hit hard by declining sales to most regions and significant restructuring costs in the second quarter of this year, but managed to cut its operating losses to €227mn – an improvement from the shocking €1bn loss it posted for the first quarter of this year, but still a little more than double the size of its losses from one year previously.
Second-quarter revenues reached €3.34bn, up 13% from the highly troubled first quarter but down 8% from one year earlier. Sales in Europe fell 12% year-on-year to €990mn, while the APAC region took up some of the slack with a 6% increase to reach €1.028bn.
However, sales to China declined 16% year-on-year to reach €340mn, while in the MEA region they fell even further by 22% to reach €304mn. Latin American revenues fell 14% to €381mn, while North American sales fell 4% to €300mn.
The Finland-based company saw a dip in network infrastructure sales and an increase in services revenues, although no solid figures were provided. Excluding the €190mn of restructuring charges NSN accrued, operating profits scraped into the black with €27mn.
The company has reduced its headcount by around 10,000 since the end of 2011, and could lose potentially another 7,000 if trading conditions do not improve.
The latest round of job cuts brings the total layoffs to 40,000 since 2010, and in combination with other money-saving initiatives, should see operating costs fall from €5.25bn in 2010 to around €3bn this year.
