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Ericsson – ERIC – In the quarter, took important steps in strategy execution

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Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (ADR)(NASDAQ:ERIC) first quarter report 2012

  • ERIC Sales decreased -4% YoY, impacted by an expected major decline in CDMA sales as well as lower operator network spending in regions with macro-economic or political uncertainty. Global Services and consolidation of Telcordia contributed positively.
  • The underlying business mix, with higher share of coverage and network modernization projects than capacity projects, was unchanged. This mix is expected to prevail short-term.
  • ERIC Operating margin 5.5% excl. gain from Sony Ericsson divestment and loss in ST-Ericsson.
  • ERIC Net income SEK 8.8 b. up 116% YoY, impacted by gain from Sony Ericsson divestment of SEK 7.7 b and loss in ST-Ericsson.
  • ERIC EPS diluted SEK 2.76 (1.27), driven by gain from Sony Ericsson divestment. EPS Non-IFRS and excluding Sony Ericsson gain SEK 0.77 (1.61).

Comments From Hans Vestberg, President And CEO

“Sales of high-performance mobile broadband developed well in North America, Japan and Korea, while other regions such as Europe including Russia, parts of Middle East and India were weaker,” says Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson (ERIC). “CDMA continued its expected decline in the transition to LTE. Our services business showed continued momentum where especially Professional Services developed favorably. Support Solutions (former Multimedia) increased organic sales.


In the quarter, we took important steps in our strategy execution. The announced acquisition of BelAir adds WiFi capabilities to our hetnet portfolio and by acquiring Technicolor’s Broadcast Services Division we have strengthened our position in media and broadcasting services, targeting a leadership position in Europe. With the completed divestment of Sony Ericsson, we have left the consumer part of the handset business in order to focus on enabling connectivity for all devices, handsets and beyond. Last year, we gained market share in our core businesses and continued to build a strong LTE position where we have more than 60% market share.

Late 2010, we took a strategic decision to increase our market share in Europe when operators started to modernize their networks and replacing old infrastructure with new multi-standard radio base stations. This, together with the business mix with more coverage than capacity projects, has, as expected, had a negative impact on gross margin YoY and is expected to prevail short-term.

Our joint venture ST-Ericsson has launched a revised strategy and actions to reduce its break-even point. We remain confident that ST-Ericsson has a strategic position in the industry to enable the device ecosystem,” concludes Vestberg.

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.


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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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