Nokia achieves 1 billion-euro business in only three years

Nokia, world’s biggest mobile phone manufacturer, saw its business increase by more than 100% in Romania last year to 1.027 billion euros, as a result of the increase in the number of employees and of the increasingly more sophisticated output of the factory in Cluj county.

The irony of it is that Nokia achieved this exponential business growth at a time of dramatic decline for the Romanian market, which shows a crisis brings out both losers and winners.

The Finnish group started production of mobile phones at the factory in Jucu commune in Cluj county in 2008.

The company saw its net profit increase at a similar pace, and reach 37.6 million euros, from 13.9 million euros in 2008. The surge in Nokia’s business last year puts it right behind Orange (1.04 billion euros) and ahead of Vodafone (929 million euros) in the ranking of the biggest IT&C companies in Romania by turnover.

Furthermore, with this turnover, the factory in Cluj, which is currently employing 4,000, made it among the top ten companies in Romania, thus achieving the most spectacular jump taken by a local company.

“Export is essential to explain the size reached by Nokia in Romania, as in Renault group’s case. Had these companies focused on the Romanian market only, the results would have probably stayed at one tenth of what they are now,” explained Aurelian Dochia, economic and financial consultant and marketing partner of Concept Consult.