NOK Nokia Corp

By Dominic Chopping

Nokia Corp. said Tuesday that it will exit the Russian market and book a 100 million-euro ($108.9 million) provision in the first quarter of 2022.

Finnish telecommunications company said it has decided to completely exit its operations in Russia, after having paused deliveries to the country shortly after the invasion of Ukraine.

Nokia operates from four locations in Russia, including Moscow and Saint Petersburg, with its business there accounting for around 2% of group sales in 2021, it said, nothing that the company still expects to achieve its previous 2022 guidance.

"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," the company said.

The move follows Nordic rival Ericsson AB's decision on Monday to suspend its Russian business indefinitely and also book a provision of 900 million Swedish kronor ($95 million) in the first quarter of 2022.

Nokia has around 2,000 employees in Russia, of which 200 work in research and development. As a result of today's decision, a company spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that redundancies will be "unavoidable," but noted that certain roles will be relocated outside of Russia.

Nokia added that for humanitarian reasons it will aim to maintain networks in Russia to ensure critical telecommunication network infrastructure and the continued flow of information for the Russian people. It is applying for the relevant licenses to enable this support in compliance with current sanctions, it added.

Nokia's customers in Russia include Mobile Telesystems, Tele2 AB, Megafon and VimpelCom.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 12, 2022 06:58 ET (10:58 GMT)

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