The latest financial results from Nokia show the company making a net profit of €41 million (£33.7m) for 2013, which compares favourably with a €1.483 billion loss in 2012. Annual net sales for the group were €12.7 billion (£10.5m), down 17% year-on-year.

Nokia’s NSN division - which manufactures network equipment and will be the main part of the company when its devices and services is taken over by Microsoft - made a net profit of €15 million (£12.3m), compared with a net loss of €1.4 billion in 2012.

However, the results also show that year-on-year handset sales fell in the final quarter of 2013, as did sales at NSN, resulting in a loss for Q4 2013.

Risto Siilasmaa, Nokia Chairman and interim CEO, said “The fourth quarter of 2013 was a watershed moment in Nokia’s history. Having received overwhelmingly strong support from our shareholders at our extraordinary general meeting in November for the sale of our phones business to Microsoft, we are diligently working towards defining Nokia’s future direction. I am pleased with the progress we have made thus far in our strategy evaluation and excited by the opportunities ahead for each of our three continuing businesses: NSN, HERE and Advanced Technologies.”

“The strength of NSN’s underlying profitability highlights just how fundamentally different the company is today, compared with two years ago when it started its restructuring and transformation program. Today, we are more focused, more innovative and more disciplined. With these fundamental elements in place, we believe NSN is well-positioned to deliver solid business performance for the year ahead.”

The Nokia/Microsoft deal, which is worth €5.44 billion (£4.48bn) to Nokia, is still awaiting final regulatory approval although Nokia says it’s already received the majority of regulatory approvals for the transaction.

[Nokia Q4 and full-year 2013 results (pdf)]