Nokia and Samsung are expected to settle a two-year patent dispute within days, with analysts forecasting a one-time payment of hundreds of millions of euros for the Finland-based Nokia.

Nokia entered into a binding arbitration with South Korea's Samsung in 2013 to settle additional compensation for a five-year period starting from early 2014.

The International Chamber of Commerce's arbitration court is due to make its ruling on the issue imminently.

Nordea analyst Sami Sarkamies, one of a few analysts to give a precise estimate, said the verdict could boost Nokia's operating profit by about 700 million euros ($758 million) this year, assuming the court will stipulate an annual patent fee of 300 million euros.

"Samsung has been paying Nokia probably 100 million per year, and the rate could now come up to around 300 million euros (per year).

The settled rate will also be paid retrospectively for the last two years," Sarkamies said.

"But they have already booked perhaps 100 million a year from Samsung to their income statement, so the … impact for this year could be around 700 million euros."

Sarkamies has a "hold" rating on Nokia shares, which have fallen 9 percent since last April when it announced a takeover valued at 15.6 billion euros of French network gear rival Alcatel-Lucent, due to be completed this quarter.

Investors have worried about the integration process and special terms negotiated by the French government, but the share price could get a boost if the settlement with Samsung is much bigger than analysts have forecast.

Nokia, which once dominated the global mobile phone market, is now focused on telecom network equipment but retains a portfolio of phone patents.

It said earlier in 2016 that the International Chamber of Commerce had advised that the settlement with Samsung is expected by the end of January.

A Nokia spokesman declined to comment on Saturday, saying the company had nothing to add beyond the previous statement.

Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson in December said it had signed a patent license agreement with Apple Inc but did not specify how much it would earn from the deal.

Ericsson estimated however that its overall revenues from intellectual property rights in 2015 would hit 13-14 billion Swedish crowns ($1.52-$1.64 billion), including positive effects from the settlement with Apple, up from 9.9 billion in 2014.

Ericsson said recently that the patent deal with Apple would help lift its intellectual property rights revenue by up to 40 percent in 2015, sending its shares up sharply.

In January in 2015, Ericsson filed a complaint against Apple over mobile technology license payments, responding to a lawsuit from the iPhone maker earlier that month.

Reuters - Global Times