Nokia CEO: NSN performance not enough

FRANKFURT, GERMANY: Nokia Siemens Networks' performance is insufficient, the chief executive of Nokia, partnered with Siemens in the telecom gear maker, has told a German magazine.

"At NSN, the business situation is not satisfactory," Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was quoted as saying in an interview with Capital magazine, parts of which were sent via email ahead of its publication on Thursday.

Nokia spokeswoman Arja Suominen said the comment on performance was referring to the third quarter.

Nokia, the world's biggest handset maker, is still committed to the joint venture.

Less than a week ago Nokia and Siemens affirmed their support for NSN in a joint letter to clients, saying that they "continue to support investment in the future of the company".

Nokia had to book a third-quarter charge of 908 million euros ($1.32 billion) for NSN, while Siemens had to take a 1.6 billion euros writedown in the fourth quarter.

Siemens declined to comment. However, Siemens chief financial officer Joe Kaeser said earlier this month there had been "disappointment" since the partners founded NSN in 2007.