Nokia Siemens Networks puts mobile broadband an...
- Focuses on mobile network infrastructure and services market
- Targets significant operating expense and production overhead savings
-Â Plans global workforce reduction of approximately 17,000
Nokia Corporation
Stock Exchange Release
November 23, 2011 at 14.00 (CET+1)
Espoo, Finland - Nokia Siemens Networks today announced its strategy to focus on
mobile broadband and services and the launch of an extensive global
restructuring program.
"We believe that the future of our industry is in mobile broadband and services
- and we aim to be an undisputed leader in these areas," said Rajeev Suri, chief
executive officer of Nokia Siemens Networks. "At the same time, we need to take
the necessary steps to maintain long term competitiveness and improve
profitability in a challenging telecommunications market."
Strategy update
Nokia Siemens Networks will target end-to-end mobile network infrastructure and
services, with a particular emphasis on mobile broadband.
"Our goal is to provide the world's most efficient mobile networks, the
intelligence to maximize the value of those networks, and the services
capability to make it all work seamlessly," said Suri. "Despite the need to
restructure parts of our company, our commitment to research and development
remains unchanged, with investment in mobile broadband expected to increase over
the coming years."
Nokia Siemens Networks plans to realign its business to focus on mobile
broadband (including optical), customer experience management and services. The
company's Services organization will further strengthen its highly-efficient
global delivery system. Business areas not consistent with the new strategy are
planned to be divested or managed for value. Quality and innovation will
continue to be priorities for the company, with ongoing investment in both
areas.
Restructuring program
Nokia Siemens Networks targets to reduce its non-IFRS* annualized operating
expenses and production overheads by EUR 1 billion by the end of 2013, compared
to the end of 2011. While these savings are expected to come largely from
organizational streamlining, the company will also target areas such as real
estate, information technology, product and service procurement costs, overall
general and administrative expenses, and a significant reduction of suppliers in
order to further lower costs and improve quality.
Nokia Siemens Networks plans to reduce its global workforce** by approximately
17,000 by the end of 2013. These planned reductions are expected to be driven by
aligning the company's workforce with its new strategy as well as through a
range of productivity and efficiency measures. These planned measures are
expected to include elimination of the company's matrix organizational
structure, site consolidation, transfer of activities to global delivery
centers, consolidation of certain central functions, cost synergies from the
integration of Motorola's wireless assets, efficiencies in service operations,
and company-wide process simplification.
Nokia Siemens Networks will begin the process of engaging with employee
representatives in accordance with country-specific legal requirements to find
socially responsible means to address these reduction needs. More information
will be shared in impacted countries as the process proceeds. In order to reduce
the impact of the planned reductions, Nokia Siemens Networks intends to launch
locally led programs at the most affected sites to provide re-training and re-
employment support.
"As we look towards the prospect of an independent future, we need to take
action now to improve our profitability and cash generation," said Suri. "These
planned reductions are regrettable but necessary - and it is our goal to make
them in a fair and responsible way, providing the support we can to employees
and communities."
Conference Call and Webcast
Nokia Siemens Networks will host a conference call for media beginning at 15:00
pm (EET) 14:00 pm (CET) on Wednesday, November 23. The conference call will be
webcast live with audio at:www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com/webcast
A dial-in option is also available.
Telephone number: +44 (0) 203 106 4822
Confirmation code: 4484071
A replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the conclusion of the
event.
About Nokia Siemens Networks
Nokia Siemens Networks is a leading global enabler of telecommunications
services. With its focus on innovation and sustainability, the company provides
a complete portfolio of mobile, fixed and converged network technology, as well
as professional services including consultancy and systems integration,
deployment, maintenance and managed services. It is one of the largest
telecommunications hardware, software and professional services companies in the
world. Operating in 150 countries, its headquarters are in Espoo,
Finland.www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com
Talk about Nokia Siemens Networks' news at
http://blogs.nokiasiemensnetworks.com
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About Nokia
Nokia is a global leader in mobile communications whose products have become an
integral part of the lives of people around the world. Every day, more than 1.3
billion people use their Nokia to capture and share experiences, access
information, find their way or simply to speak to one another. Nokia's
technological and design innovations have made its brand one of the most
recognized in the world. For more information, visit
http://www.nokia.com/about-
nokia
NOKIA FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
It should be noted that certain statements herein which are not historical facts
are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those regarding:
A) the expected plans and benefits of our strategic partnership with Microsoft
to combine complementary assets and expertise to form a global mobile ecosystem
and to adopt Windows Phone as our primary smartphone platform; B) the timing and
expected benefits of our new strategy, including expected operational and
financial benefits and targets as well as changes in leadership and operational
structure; C) the timing of the deliveries of our products and services; D) our
ability to innovate, develop, execute and commercialize new technologies,
products and services; E) expectations regarding market developments and
structural changes; F) expectations and targets regarding our industry volumes,
market share, prices, net sales and margins of products and services; G)
expectations and targets regarding our operational priorities and results of
operations; H) expectations and targets regarding collaboration and partnering
arrangements; I) the outcome of pending and threatened litigation; J)
expectations regarding the successful completion of acquisitions or
restructurings on a timely basis and our ability to achieve the financial and
operational targets set in connection with any such acquisition or
restructuring; and K) statements preceded by "believe," "expect," "anticipate,"
"foresee," "target," "estimate," "designed," "plans," "will" or similar
expressions. These statements are based on management's best assumptions and
beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Because they
involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from the
results that we currently expect. Factors that could cause these differences
include, but are not limited to: 1) our ability to succeed in creating a
competitive smartphone platform for high-quality differentiated winning
smartphones or in creating new sources of revenue through our partnership with
Microsoft; 2) the expected timing of the planned transition to Windows Phone as
our primary smartphone platform and the introduction of mobile products based on
that platform; 3) our ability to maintain the viability of our current Symbian
smartphone platform during the transition to Windows Phone as our primary
smartphone platform; 4) our ability to realize a return on our investment in
MeeGo and next generation devices, platforms and user experiences; 5) our
ability to build a competitive and profitable global ecosystem of sufficient
scale, attractiveness and value to all participants and to bring winning
smartphones to the market in a timely manner; 6) our ability to produce mobile
phones in a timely and cost efficient manner with differentiated hardware,
localized services and applications; 7) our ability to increase our speed of
innovation, product development and execution to bring new competitive
smartphones and mobile phones to the market in a timely manner; 8) our ability
to retain, motivate, develop and recruit appropriately skilled employees; 9) our
ability to implement our strategies, particularly our new mobile product
strategy; 10) the intensity of competition in the various markets where we do
business and our ability to maintain or improve our market position or respond
successfully to changes in the competitive environment; 11) our ability to
maintain and leverage our traditional strengths in the mobile product market if
we are unable to retain the loyalty of our mobile operator and distributor
customers and consumers as a result of the implementation of our new strategy or
other factors; 12) our success in collaboration and partnering arrangements with
third parties, including Microsoft; 13) the success, financial condition and
performance of our suppliers, collaboration partners and customers; 14) our
ability to source sufficient quantities of fully functional quality components,
subassemblies and software on a timely basis without interruption and on
favorable terms, including the disruption of production and/or deliveries from
any of our suppliers as a result of adverse conditions in the geographic areas
where they are located; 15) our ability to manage efficiently our manufacturing,
service creation, delivery and logistics without interruption; 16) our ability
to ensure the timely delivery of sufficient volumes of products that meet our
and our customers' and consumers' requirements and manage our inventory and
timely adapt our supply to meet changing demands for our products; 17) any
actual or even alleged defects or other quality, safety and security issues in
our products; 18) any actual or alleged loss, improper disclosure or leakage of
any personal or consumer data collected or made available to us or stored in or
through our products; 19) our ability to successfully manage costs, including
our ability to achieve targeted costs reductions and to effectively and timely
execute related restructuring measures, including personnel reductions; 20) our
ability to effectively and smoothly implement the new operational structure for
our businesses; 21) the development of the mobile and fixed communications
industry and general economic conditions globally and regionally; 22) exchange
rate fluctuations, including, in particular, fluctuations between the euro,
which is our reporting currency, and the US dollar, the Japanese yen and the
Chinese yuan, as well as certain other currencies; 23) our ability to protect
the technologies, which we or others develop or that we license, from claims
that we have infringed third parties' intellectual property rights, as well as
our unrestricted use on commercially acceptable terms of certain technologies in
our products and services; 24) our ability to protect numerous Nokia, NAVTEQ and
Nokia Siemens Networks patented, standardized or proprietary technologies from
third-party infringement or actions to invalidate the intellectual property
rights of these technologies; 25) the impact of changes in government policies,
trade policies, laws or regulations and economic or political turmoil in
countries where our assets are located and we do business; 26) any disruption to
information technology systems and networks that our operations rely on; 27)
unfavorable outcome of litigations; 28) allegations of possible health risks
from electromagnetic fields generated by base stations and mobile products and
lawsuits related to them, regardless of merit; 29) our ability to achieve
targeted costs reductions and increase profitability in Nokia Siemens Networks
and to effectively and timely execute related restructuring measures; 30) Nokia
Siemens Networks' ability to maintain or improve its market position or respond
successfully to changes in the competitive environment; 31) Nokia Siemens
Networks' liquidity and its ability to meet its working capital requirements;
32) whether Nokia Siemens Networks is able to successfully integrate the
acquired assets of Motorola Solutions' networks business, retain existing
customers of the acquired business, cross-sell Nokia Siemens Networks' products
and services to customers of the acquired business and otherwise realize the
expected synergies and benefits of the acquisition; 33) Nokia Siemens Networks'
ability to timely introduce new products, services, upgrades and technologies;
34) Nokia Siemens Networks' success in the telecommunications infrastructure
services market and Nokia Siemens Networks' ability to effectively and
profitably adapt its business and operations in a timely manner to the
increasingly diverse service needs of its customers; 35) developments under
large, multi-year contracts or in relation to major customers in the networks
infrastructure and related services business; 36) the management of our customer
financing exposure, particularly in the networks infrastructure and related
services business; 37) whether ongoing or any additional governmental
investigations into alleged violations of law by some former employees of
Siemens AG may involve and affect the carrier-related assets and employees
transferred by Siemens AG to Nokia Siemens Networks; 38) any impairment of Nokia
Siemens Networks customer relationships resulting from ongoing or any additional
governmental investigations involving the Siemens carrier-related operations
transferred to Nokia Siemens Networks; as well as the risk factors specified on
pages 12-39 of Nokia's annual report Form 20-F for the year ended December
31, 2010 under Item 3D. "Risk Factors." Other unknown or unpredictable factors
or underlying assumptions subsequently proving to be incorrect could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements. Nokia does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
Media Enquiries
Nokia Siemens Networks
Media Relations
Phone: +358 7180 31451
E-mail:mediarelations@nsn.com
Notes:
* Non-IFRS results exclude special items for all periods. In addition, non-IFRS
results exclude intangible asset amortization, other purchase price accounting
related items and inventory value adjustments arising from the formation of
Nokia Siemens Networks and from all business acquisitions. Nokia believes that
these non-IFRS financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information to
both management and investors regarding Nokia's performance by excluding the
above-described items that may not be indicative of Nokia's business operating
results. These non-IFRS financial measures should not be viewed in isolation or
as substitutes to the equivalent IFRS measure(s), but should be used in
conjunction with the most directly comparable IFRS measure(s) in the reported
results.
** The total global workforce of Nokia Siemens Networks on 1 November 2011 was
approximately 74,000.
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: NOKIA via Thomson Reuters ONE
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