Nokia Siemens Networks posts surprise Q3 profit

HELINSKI, FINLAND: Nokia's telecom gear venture Nokia Siemens Networks posted a surprise small third-quarter profit on Thursday and repeated it still hoped for a positive operating margin for the full year.

Nokia Siemens Networks, a 50-50 venture of Nokia and Siemens, has struggled for profitability since it was formed in 2007 amid tight operator spending and fierce competition from rivals Huawei and Ericsson.

In the third quarter, the venture made an underlying (nonIFRS) operating profit of 6.0 million euros compared with a forecast for a 31.5 million loss in a Reuters poll.

Nokia Siemens said it expected fourth-quarter sales to be between 3.7 and 4.0 billion euros and its underlying operating profit margin would be between 1 percent and 4 percent.

On Sept 29 Nokia and Siemens said they would both put in additional 500 million euros into the venture to strengthen its financial position