Uit de Nokia conference call van vandaag:
Now let me turn HERE and the strategic review that we have announced. We embarked on that process in the context of two developments. The first is that location services are becoming of even greater strategic importance to automotive companies and others; second, it is clear that Nokia's portfolio will become increasingly networks focused once the Alcatel-Lucent transaction closes.
In light of these two things, we wanted to take a step back and at least ask the question of whether owning HERE still made sense.
Following our review, we could choose to sell HERE in full or in part or we could decide to keep it unchanged from today. No one should assume that there is a predetermined outcome.
We are looking for the best solution for Nokia and its shareholders for HERE and its employees and customers. We're in no rush, under no pressure of sale and regardless of the option we choose I have no doubt that the future of HERE is bright.
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Financieel:
Turning on to HERE, which delivered a strong top-line growth and continued improvement in profitability.
As I have commented on previous call, we believe HERE has strong long-term growth prospects and is capitalizing on the trends we see, particularly in the automotive segment. It is really key to driving operating leverage and cash flow generation.
In Q1, HERE delivered year-over-year net sales growth of 25% or 17% on a constant currency basis. New vehicle licenses of 3.6 units in the quarter compared to 2.8 million units in the first quarter of 2014 or 29% year-on-year growth.
HERE's non-IFRS operating margin of 7.3%, up 250 basis points year-on-year was primarily driven by operating leverage from the higher net sales which more than offset higher non-IFRS operating expenses.
Taking into account HERE's performance in Q1, its leading market position as well as positive industry trends, we have narrowed HERE’s 2015 non-IFRS operating margin outlook from between 7% and 12% to between 9% and 12%.
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Operationeel:
Then to HERE, HERE delivered excellent results with significant improvement in both year-over-year sales and profitability. The automotive segment continues to go from strength-to-strength.
And shortly after the end of the quarter, I was particularly pleased to see that Jaguar Land Rover has decided to be the first car maker to implement HERE Auto, the industry's leading connected navigation fleet inside its cars. We look forward to seeing how that will be received by drivers this summer. This was a groundbreaking win for HERE; and the team is working very hard to follow that up with more.
Other notable activities in the quarter included HERE launching its map app for iPhone users making it available for free download from App Store. To date, the reception has been excellent with the app downloaded a combined 6 million times for both iOS and Android and getting glowing reviews in the process.