Nokia profits buoyed by strong growth in North America

Finnish telecom equipment group Nokia reported a sharp rise in annual net profit Thursday, boosted by a substantial one-off tax-related gain and strong North America sales in the fourth quarter.

The group's net profit in 2014 soared fivefold to 1.16 billion euros ($1.31 billion) compared to the previous year, due in part to a tax gain worth 1.4 billion euros from its businesses in Germany and Finland.

Operating profit was slashed by a third to 170 million euros while sales were stable at 12.73 billion euros.

Nokia -- once the world leader in mobile phones -- has sought to shift its business towards navigation systems and licensing in the mobile technology business since selling its handset division to Microsoft last year.

Nokia chief executive Rajeev Suri said the "power of the new Nokia" could be seen in the fourth quarter results with net profits shooting up by 80 percent to 326 million euros, mainly due to 4G mobile network sales in the US, and turnover rising by nine percent to 3.8 billion euros.

Nokia sales grew the fastest in North America in 2014, increasing by 16 percent, while demand fell slightly in Europe and Asia Pacific.

The company's telecom networks business, which represents almost 90 percent of turnover, were up by 8 percent to 3.4 billion euros in the fourth quarter.

Nokia announced an unexpected return to mobile devices last year and launched an android tablet, the N1, in China at the start of 2015. The group said it has had a "remarkably favourable" reception but did not reveal any sales figures for the device.