Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia is exiting the Russian market permanently, becoming the latest western company to distance itself from the Kremlin and plan for a future in which sanctions persist.
“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,” the group said on Tuesday.
In early March, Nokia suspended deliveries of networking equipment to Russia, stopped accepting any new business and moved its limited R&D activities out of the country. It will now begin removing its equipment and services from Russia for good, a process which could take some time.
Nokia’s decision comes a day after Swedish rival Ericsson’s announcement on Monday that it was “indefinitely suspending” all activities in Russia.
Both European companies account for around 20 to 30 per cent of the market for radio network equipment in Russia respectively, according to market research company Dell’Oro, with Chinese groups Huawei and ZTE making up the rest.
Unlike Ericsson, Nokia is applying for the necessary licences to continue to maintain and repair network infrastructure in Russia while it undertakes its managed exit from the country. It said this was “for humanitarian reasons” and because of the “importance of ensuring the continued flow of information and access to the internet which provides outside perspectives to the Russian people”.
The company added that it did not believe that the decision to exit Russia would have any impact on its financial outlook for 2022, given that the country accounted for less than 2 per cent of Nokia’s sales in 2021 and demand in other regions has been strong so far this year.
Shares in Nokia were down 0.8 per cent to €4.90 in morning trading.
