Covid-19 has dealt Nokia a harsh blow. The 23 billion euro Finnish group said on Friday that revenue fell 11% in thecompared with a year earlier as mobile operators bought less of its kit. But outgoing Chief Executive Rajeev Suri insists that’s just a blip. He expects Nokia will make up the lost sales in future quarters. Meanwhile, continuous cost cuts should help protect the bottom line. Investors believe him.
Their reaction makes sense. Nokia’s forward price-earnings multiple has in recent months dipped below its two-year average of 15, even though long-term demand for mobile kit is unlikely to be affected by the virus. The Finnish group could also pick up some business in Europe as governments turn against Chinese rival Huawei Technologies. Nokia’s signal finally looks strong. Hong Kong’s pandemic response looks increasingly chaotic.
The spike in new infections was not caused by restaurants per se, but by quarantine exemptions that allowed some 250,000 people – pilots, sailors and executives – to skip quarantine when passing in and out of Hong Kong. The impact of an extended closure could have been severe on employees, operators and landlords. Advance estimates showed the city’s economy shrank by 9% year-on-year in the second quarter, its fourth consecutive quarter of contraction.
on Thursday, revealed that losses more than doubled to 114 million pounds. It said the company’s ability to continue as a going concern “is subject to material uncertainties” given Covid-19. Shareholders already rescued it once this year, investing money at a 40% discount to its previous valuation. Unless Anil’s new strategy takes effect quickly, that won’t be Monzo’s last painful funding round.