Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia announced on Tuesday (Dec. 10) that it has signed a new multi-year contract extension with Paris-based iIiad Group (iIiad) to support the operator’s 3G, 4G, and 5G mobile networks across France and Italy.
The deal, which also includes the operator’s footprint on the French Caribbean and Indian Ocean Islands, will see the continuation of both companies’ long-standing strategic partnership which began in 2010.
Under the deal, Nokia will supply solutions from its market-leading, energy-efficient AirScale portfolio including baseband, Massive MIMO radios, Remote Radio Head products and Core solutions. Nokia’s cloud-native 4G/5G Core and IMS Voice Core will enable iliad to quickly and securely deploy new network services without limitations in multi-cloud environments at scale.
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia, said: “This multi-year contract extension is a great step in Nokia’s long-term strategic partnership with iliad Group, one of the largest telecom operators in Europe. It is built on strong foundations and a shared commitment to build high-performing, sustainable networks. We have been with iIiad Group every step of the way since 2010 and look forward to continuing this journey with them into the future.”
A day earlier, Nokia repurchased 872,093 of its own shares at an average price of €4.18 per share, as part of its ongoing share buyback program. The transactions, conducted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange (XHEL), amounted to a total cost of approximately €3.645 million.
The repurchases under the authorization granted by Nokia’s Annual General Meeting on 3 April 2024 started on 25 November 2024 and end by 31 December 2025 and target to repurchase 150 million shares for a maximum aggregate purchase price of EUR 900 million.
On Monday (Dec. 9) JPMorgan shifted its stance on Nokia upgrading the stock from Neutral to Overweight, signaling increased optimism about the company’s future performance.
Nokia at a Glance
Founded: 1865 Headquarters: Espoo, Finland Employees: 86,689 Net sales: (Q3 2024): 4.33 bln euros Comparable EBITDA: 454 mln euros Full year profit outlook: 2.3 billion to 2.9 bln euros
