By Dominic Chopping

Nokia Corp. on Thursday posted a forecast-beating rise in second-quarter net profit and raised guidance, driven by market share gains and higher sales of its 5G network equipment.

The company's comparable net profit for the quarter rose to 532 million euros ($628.7 million) from EUR311 million a year earlier, as sales rose 4.3% to EUR5.31 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet had expected comparable net profit of EUR238 million on sales of EUR5.15 billion.

On a reported basis, Nokia net profit rose to EUR344 million, it said.

The company said that considering its "robust" start to 2021, it now expects full-year net sales of EUR21.7 billion to EUR22.7 billion, from EUR20.6 billion-EUR21.8 billion previously. Adjusted operating margin for the year is now seen at 10%-12%, from 7%-10% previously, and free cash flow is now seen as being "clearly positive," compared with "positive" previously.

"We have executed faster than planned on our strategy in the first half which provides us with a good foundation for the full year," Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark said.

"We still, however, expect to face the earlier communicated headwinds in the second half, particularly with market-share loss and price erosion in North America," he said.

Nokia said it continues to accelerate research and development investments and monitor risks around component availability, considering the strong demand for its products.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-29-21 0150ET