Nokia will stop activities on the territory of the Russian Federation over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the Finnish producer of telecommunication equipment said. Considering the strong demand the company sees in other regions, it does not expect this decision to impact their ability to achieve 2022 outlook.
"It has been clear for Nokia since the early days of the invasion of Ukraine that continuing our presence in Russia would not be possible. Over the last weeks we have suspended deliveries, stopped new business and are moving our limited R&D activities out of Russia. We can now announce we will exit the Russian market. During this process our priority continues to be the safety and wellbeing of our employees," according to the statement.
For humanitarian reasons, Western governments have expressed concerns about the risk of critical telecommunication network infrastructure in Russia failing, reads the statement, continuing "they have also emphasized the importance of ensuring the continued flow of information and access to the internet which provides outside perspectives to the Russian people. Therefore, as we exit we will aim to provide the necessary support to maintain the networks and are applying for the relevant licenses to enable this support in compliance with current sanctions."
"This is the most responsible course of action for Nokia to take as we exit the Russian market," says the announcement.
Russia accounted for less than 2% of Nokia's net sales in 2021. "Considering the strong demand we see in other regions – we do not expect this decision to impact our ability to achieve our 2022 outlook provided in the Nokia financial report for Q4 and full year 2021 issued on 3 February 2022. We expect this decision to lead to a provision in Q1 of approximately €100m which will impact our reported but not comparable financials."
