The chair of the Nokia board, Risto Siilasmaa, told shareholders at the company's AGM that there are no significant threats to Nokia’s continued operation, and highlighted the company’s market value increases.
Speaking in Helsinki, Siilasmaa said that Nokia is now a profitable company, with a strategy for the future and a strong balance sheet.
”Following our deals with Microsoft and Siemens, Nokia continues to be a major technology company. Nokia is also one of the world’s largest software companies,” Siilasmaa said.
Siilasmaa also praised Nokia as once again being the number one among Finnish companies. ”At the end of May the company became the most valuable of all Finland’s listed companies,” he said.
In his AGM speech Siilasmaa described the company’s long history, and pointed out that next year Nokia will celebrate its 150th anniversary.
”The company began operations in 1865, driven by a single paper factory,” Siilasmaa said in his opening speech, adding that Nokia has gone on to work in many different sectors.
A turning point
Nokia’s CEO Rajeev Suri told shareholders that Nokia is now at a turning point, after 13 months of changes during which the company’s handset arm was sold to Microsoft in a 5 billion euro deal this April.
The remaining company is expected to focus on its profitable networks and mapping businesses.
He said the company’s long decline was now over, and NSN has risen from loss-making to profitability.
Suri added, however, that there was no room for complacency and said he is still not satisfied with current results. The company must not simply expand at all costs, he said.