Nokia axes dividend to save cash

US-NOKIA-RESULTS-DIVIDEND:Nokia axes dividend to save cash

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia said it was to axe its annual dividend payment for the first time in over 20 years, aiming to shore up its finances amid a fall in sales.

Nokia, which earlier this month flagged a return to underlying profitability on cost cuts and stronger Lumia smartphone sales, said on Thursday it finished the year with net cash of 4.4 billion euros ($5.8 billion), down 22 percent from a year earlier.

Its quarterly operating profit was 6 euro cents per share, in line with expectations.

($1 = 0.7530 euro)

(Reporting by Helsinki Newsroom; Editing by Dan Lalor)

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