(Reuters) -Finnish telecoms equipment maker Nokia reported third-quarter profit well ahead of expectations on Thursday as it said it will scale down its passive venture fund investments. Comparable operating profit in the quarter through September reached 435 million euros ($507 million). Analysts polled by LSEG expected the same metric to reach 342 million euros. U.S. tariffs, a market slowdown and a weaker dollar have weighed on Nokia's business this year, prompting it in July to issue a profit warning. Now, the Finnish company expects the operating profit to come between 1.7 billion and 2.2 billion euros, a slight upgrade to the previous range of up to 2.1 billion. It had previously said the second half of 2025 would be stronger than the first. The company has lost ground in North America as U.S. carrier AT&T phases out Nokia’s 5G contract in favour of Nordic rival Ericsson, which won a $14 billion deal in 2023. Nokia said that the decision to scale down passive investments has changed how it presents gains and losses from these funds, as they are now reported under financial income and expenses instead of operating profit. "We may still make targeted minority investments, directly as Nokia, that can accelerate our strategy," CEO Justin Hotard said in a statement. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Matt Scuffham and Milla Nissi-Prussak) (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)
