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By Dominic Chopping
Finnish telecommunications company Nokia Corp. said Tuesday that it will exit the Russian market and book a 100 million-euro ($108.9 million) provision in the first quarter of 2022.
Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Nokia said it had paused deliveries to the country but it has now moved to completely exit Russia, echoing a similar move by Nordic rival Ericsson AB.
Nokia operates from four locations in Russia, a main office and separate training center in Moscow and offices in Saint Petersburg and Voronezh, but its business there only accounted for around 2% of group sales in 2021 so the company still expects to achieve its previous 2022 guidance.
“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,” it said.
“Over the last weeks we have suspended deliveries, stopped new business and are moving our limited R&D activities out of Russia. We can now announce we will exit the Russian market,” the company said.
Nokia said that for humanitarian reasons it will aim to maintain networks in Russia to ensure critical telecommunication network infrastructure and the continued flow of information for the Russian people.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
