HELSINKI: Finnish network equipment maker Nokia reported larger than expected quarterly profits on Thursday thanks to a patent deal with Apple along with improving profitability at its network business but warned its key market would slow.Second-quarter group earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose 73% from a year ago to 574 million euros (US$674mil), clearly above analysts’ average forecast of 447 million euros in a Reuters poll.However, Nokia said the global network market would be more challenging in the full year than earlier forecast, citing uncertainty related to the some projects.“We now expect a decline in the market in the range of 3-5%, versus our earlier view of a low-single digit decline,” chief executive Rajeev Suri said in a statement.Nokia’s network business, which accounts for roughly 90% of its sales, is expected to decline in line with the market trends, he said.

Source: The Star July 27, 2017 05:15 UTC