Nokia has published stronger-than-expected quarterly results - but it is networking technology not consumer products which are driving growth.

The Finnish company has been at capacity trying to satisfy demand for technology to speed-up 4G connections.

The firm ended the quarter with earnings before interest and taxes of €940m - a Reuters poll had forecast it to be €788m.

After its withdrawal from the smartphone market when its partnership with Microsoft struggled to attract users - Nokia phones returned last month. It has a new partnership with HMD Global - a company formed by former Nokia executives.

The Finnish company is competing with companies like Ericsson and Huawei in the networking market. It acquired French firm Alcatel-Lucent SA last year to expand its operations.

Nokia is currently cutting jobs around the world in a cost-reducing exercise which is expected to save €1.2bn by 2018.

Chief Executive Rajeev Suri commented: "We continue to expect our performance to improve in 2017 and see the potential for margin expansion in 2017 and beyond, as market conditions improve and our sales transformation programs gain further traction."

"Our plan is to make the most of the market this year, be efficient, maintain our pricing discipline, ensure our synergies happen and we get the cost reductions," he continued.

While it won't be threatening Apple and Samsung in the smartphone market, its networking niche looks set to remain profitable for some time to come.