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☆ Ericsson's Q1 profit grows unexpectedly, eyes stabilisation of sales in H2
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Telecom equipment maker Ericsson reported on Tuesday a first-quarter adjusted profit that beat expectations and said sales might stabilise in the second half of the year despite weak demand for 5G gear. Operating profit excluding restructuring charges grew unexpectedly, to 4.3 billion crowns ($394.40 million) from a year-earlier 4.0 billion despite a 15% sales drop. The profit included a one-off gain of 1.9 billion crowns related to the resolution of a commercial dispute, Ericsson said. "In the second half, our margins should benefit from improved business mix," it said. Ericsson on Tuesday forecast a gross margin excluding restructuring charges at the Networks division of 42%-44% for the second quarter of 2024.

Persons: Ericsson Organizations: Telecom, Ericsson, LSEG, Radio Access Network, Networks Locations: Swedish, North America, China

☆ Ericsson warns of 2024 market decline despite Q4 earnings beat
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ericsson said it expects further decline in 5G gear demand from mobile operators this year after beating fourth-quarter operating profit expectations on Tuesday helped by software sales. Telecoms equipment suppliers are expecting a challenging 2024 as 5G equipment sales - a key source of revenue - are slowing in North America, while India, a growth market, may also see a slowdown. That was mostly due to higher-margin software sales and lower sales of 5G equipment to lower-margin countries such as India. Ericsson said it would get a boost in the second half of the year from a $14 billion telecom deal with AT&T that it won over rival Nokia. The company on Tuesday also appointed Lars Sandstrom as chief financial officer, replacing long-time company veteran Carl Mellander.

Persons: Carl Mellander, Mellander, Börje Ekholm, Ericsson, Lars Sandstrom Organizations: Ericsson, Nokia, RAN, Radio Locations: North America, India, China

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Apple, Nio, CVS Health, GitLab and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Nio — The Chinese automaker climbed about 3% after reporting a smaller-than-expected loss in the third quarter. Nio has taken steps to bring down costs recently, including a 10% cut to its workforce last month. CVS Health — Shares gained 4% after CVS said it would overhaul the way it prices prescription drugs . GitLab — The software company's shares jumped more than 12% a day after the company reported better-than-expected results for the fiscal third quarter.

Persons: Nio, GitLab, Adecoagro, Albemarle —, Piper Sandler, —, Samantha Subin, Hakyung Kim, Sarah Min, Alex Harring, Pia Singh, Michelle Fox Organizations: Apple, Bank of America, CVS, FactSet, UBS —, UBS, Suisse, Nokia, Ericsson —, Ericsson's, Ericsson, Albemarle Locations: China, U.S, Monday's, Ericsson's U.S, Sweden, Finland

As demand has slowed in countries such as the United States, Nokia and rival Ericsson (ERICb.ST) have tried to offset some of the weakness with higher sales to India, a low-margin market. Nokia is targeting savings of between 800 million euros ($842 million) and 1.2 billion euros by 2026, its deadline to deliver a long-term comparable operating margin plan of at least 14%. Nokia expects at least 400 million euros of savings in 2024, and a further 300 million euros in 2025. Quarterly comparable net sales fell to 4.98 billion euros from 6.24 billion last year, missing an estimate of 5.67 billion euros according to a LSEG poll. "There are signs here and there that demand would start to pick up again but it's too early to call it a broad-based trend," Lundmark said.

Persons: Albert Gea, Pekka Lundmark, Lundmark, it's, Supantha Mukherjee, Anne Kauranen, Anna Ringstrom, Clarence Fernandez, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Mobile World Congress, REUTERS, STOCKHOLM, Nokia, Ericsson, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, American, HELSINKI, Finnish, United States, India, North American, China, Stockholm, Helsinki

A general view of an exterior of the Ericsson headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, January 24, 2020. The Swedish telecom equipment maker's shares fell 9% in early trade to lows last seen in 2017, when the company was going through another downturn. Gear makers such as Ericsson and Nokia (NOKIA.HE) have been hit by a slowdown in spending by telecoms companies. Mellander said the company had increased its previously announced 2023 cost saving target of 11 billion Swedish crowns ($1.01 billion), including the laying off 8,500 employees, to 12 billion crowns. India has been a rare growth area with sales quadrupling to about 10 billion crowns, but that is expected to slow down next year.

Persons: Fredrik Sandberg, Carl Mellander, Mellander, Borje Ekholm, Supantha Mukherjee, Terje Solsvik, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Ericsson, TT News Agency, REUTERS, Reuters, Gear, Nokia, Jefferies, Thomson Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, India, STOCKHOLM, North America, Swedish

☆ Ericsson books $3 bln impairment, says Q3 core profit fell 39%
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A logo of Ericsson is seen outside the company's office in Kanata, Ontario, Canada April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Lars Hagberg/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Ericsson (ERICb.ST) on Wednesday announced a 32 billion Swedish crown ($2.9 billion) impairment charge related to its acquisition last year of Vonage, and said core profits fell in the third quarter as demand tumbled in North America. "The impairment charge represents 50% of the total amount of goodwill and other intangible assets attributed to Vonage." Ericsson said a preliminary reading showed its operating profit before amortisation and restructuring and impairment charges fell 39% in the third quarter to 4.7 billion crowns. Ericsson's profits plunged also in the second quarter as a slowdown in consumer spending hit sales of telecommunications gear.

Persons: Lars Hagberg, Vonage, Ericsson, Anna Ringstrom, Shailesh Kuber, Leslie Adler, Terje Solsvik, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Ericsson, REUTERS, Rights, Wednesday, Ericsson's, Networks, Thomson Locations: Kanata , Ontario, Canada, Rights STOCKHOLM, North America, Swedish, Stockholm, Bengaluru

☆ Intel, Ericsson to work together on custom 5G chip
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 25 (Reuters) - Intel Corp (INTC.O) on Tuesday said that it will work with Swedish telecommunications gear maker Ericsson (ERICb.ST) to make a custom chip for Ericsson's 5G networking gear, using the most advanced manufacturing technology Intel has disclosed. Intel has lost its lead in manufacturing the smallest and most power-efficient semiconductors to rivals such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW). A key piece of Intel Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger's plan announced in 2021 to regain that lead and turn the company around has been to pack five generations of chip manufacturing advances into four years. Intel said that the new Ericsson chip will use Intel's "18A" manufacturing technology and is among the first chips from outside customers that Intel has will use the technology. Intel and Ericsson did not provide details on when the chip will hit the market, but Intel has previously said that its 18A manufacturing technology will be ready by 2025.

Persons: Pat Gelsinger's, Stephen Nellis, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Intel Corp, Ericsson, Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, San, Thomson Locations: Swedish, San Francisco

☆ Ericsson investigates reports of Iraq revoking work permits
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STOCKHOLM, July 21 (Reuters) - Ericsson (ERICb.ST) is investigating reports Baghdad has suspended employees' work permits in Iraq and the potential implications for customers and staff in the country, the Swedish telecom gear company said on Friday. On Thursday, Iraq expelled the Swedish ambassador in protest at a planned burning of the Koran in Stockholm that prompted protesters to storm the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. Two protesters in Stockholm on Thursday kicked and partly destroyed a book they said was the Koran but did not set it alight. Ericsson, which has around 30 full-time employees in Iraq, said the safety of its staff, partners, and customers was its top priority. Iraq is a relatively small market by sales for Ericsson.

Persons: Supantha Mukherjee, Anna Ringstrom, Jason Neely, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Ericsson, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, Baghdad, Iraq, Swedish, Stockholm, Sweden

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said staff at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad were safe but Iraqi authorities had failed in their responsibility to protect the embassy. Thursday's demonstration was called by supporters of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to protest at the second planned Koran burning in Sweden in weeks, according to posts in a Telegram group linked to the influential cleric and other pro-Sadr media. He stood by the embassy storming on Thursday, telling a press conference the U.S. "has no right to condemn the burning of the Swedish embassy but should have condemned the burning of the Koran". "Yes, yes to the Koran," protesters chanted. Sweden has seen several Koran burnings in recent years, mostly by far-right and anti-Muslim activists.

Persons: Tobias Billstrom, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Mohammed Shia Al, Billstrom, Muqtada al, Moqtada al, Read, Tayyip Erdogan, Ulf Kristersson, Timour Azhari, Anna Ringstrom, Supantha Mukherjee, Johan Ahlander, Marie, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Ahmed Rasheed, Tom Hogue, Tom Perry, Lincoln, Bernadette Baum, William Maclean, Alison Williams, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: NATO, Sweden's Ericsson, State Department, Telegram, Turkish, Sweden's, Islam, Marie Mannes, Thomson Locations: Iraq, BAGHDAD, STOCKHOLM, Swedish, Stockholm, Baghdad, Iraqi, Sweden, Tehran, Turkey, Washington, Sadr, Copenhagen

☆ Nokia issues profit warning, rival Ericsson delivers 'lukewarm' results
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nokia's shares dropped 7.8% in early trade to their lowest since April 2021, while Ericsson shares were down 7.7%. Nokia reported preliminary second-quarter sales of 5.7 billion euros ($6.4 billion), while analysts polled by Refinitiv had estimated sales of 6 billion euros on average. Nokia said it now expects 2023 sales of 23.2-24.6 billion euros ($26.1-$27.6 billion) against 24.6-26.2 billion euros estimated previously. Meanwhile, Ericsson reported a 62% fall in second-quarter adjusted operating profit, slightly above market expectations. The Swedish telecom equipment maker's operating profits, excluding restructuring charges, fell to 2.8 billion Swedish crowns ($271 million), compared with 7.4 billion crowns the previous year.

Persons: Refinitiv, Börje Ekholm, Ericsson's, Richard Webb, Webb, we’ll, Martin Coulter, Anna Ringstrom, Krishna Chandra Eluri, Tom Hogue Organizations: Nokia, Ericsson, Markets, Reuters, 5G, CSS Insight, Thomson Locations: North America, India, Swedish

☆ Ericsson's board rebuked by shareholders at AGM for second year in a row
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STOCKHOLM, March 29 (Reuters) - Ericsson (ERICb.ST) shareholders voted against discharging the CEO and most of the board members of liability for the tech company's actions during 2022 at the group's annual general meeting on Wednesday. Under Swedish law, if board members are not discharged of their liabilities for the previous year by shareholders owning at least 10% of the stock they can be sued by the company and its investors. Shareholders are upset with the company's perceived mishandling of alleged bribery cases. Since then we have been waiting, but the questions are still unanswered," Sverre Linton of the Swedish Shareholder's Association said at the AGM. Ericsson's board was denied discharge of liability last year too, in a rare rebuke for corporate leadership in Sweden.

☆ Ericsson pleads guilty in U.S. to federal bribery violations, agrees to pay $206 million penalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson agreed to pay a $206 million penalty and pleaded guilty to violating the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, U.S. prosecutors announced Thursday evening. Additionally, the company paid about $540 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company also allegedly failed to disclose possible evidence of a similar scheme in Iraq. "Instead of honoring that commitment, Ericsson repeatedly failed to fully cooperate and failed to disclose evidence and allegations of misconduct in breach of the agreement." In a release, Ericsson said its own internal investigation "did not conclude that Ericsson made or was responsible for any payments to any terrorist organization."

BARCELONA, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Ericsson's (ERICb.ST) CEO says the company is still in the market for more acquisitions, albeit smaller ones, after splurging over $7 billion to buy networking company Cradlepoint and communication platform Vonage. In contrast with Nokia, which announced a new strategy focused on enterprise, Ericsson expects to continue to focus on its business of selling to communications service providers (CSPs) or telecom operators along with adding to its enterprise offerings. While the global enterprise business, which revolves around private 5G and automating factories, has yet to grow significantly, it has been a melting pot of partnerships between equipment makers, mobile operators and big technology companies. “We will need to add to our enterprise offerings, so you will see smaller acquisitions,” CEO Borje Ekholm told Reuters on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on Monday. "We have 90% plus of sales from CSPs... we need to build on that strength that is always central [to the business]."

☆ Ericsson to lay off 8,500 employees -memo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STOCKHOLM, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Telecom equipment maker Ericsson (ERICb.ST) will lay off 8,500 employees globally as part of its plan to cut costs, a memo sent to employees and seen by Reuters said. "The way headcount reductions will be managed will differ depending on local country practice," Chief Executive Borje Ekholm wrote in the memo. Many telecom companies had beefed up their inventories during the height of the pandemic which is now leading to slowing orders for telecom equipment makers. Verizon (VZ.N), one of the largest telecom companies, plans to spend between $18.25 billion and $19.25 billion this year, down from a capital expenditure budget of $23 billion last year. Nordic rival Nokia (NOKIA.HE) has not announced any plans to lay off employees.

☆ India is a true bright spot in the midst of a global downturn, top execs and policymakers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

But India does shine out among the world's biggest economies, with Europe hovering on the brink of potential recession and U.S. growth slowing. "It's for the whole digital India, and creating a digital society in India," Ekholm told CNBC. watch nowIndia, he continued, "will very shortly have the best digital infrastructure outside of China," driven by telecoms juggernauts Bharti Airtel and Jio, he added. Strong tailwinds"We are very optimistic and very positive on India," the chief executive of Tata Consultancy Services, Rajesh Gopinathan, told CNBC. As Anish Shah, chief executive of Mahindra Group, told CNBC: "India will get impacted.

☆ Ericsson shares slide as fourth-quarter earnings disappoint
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The company has already announced plans to cut costs by 9 billion crowns ($880 million) by the end of 2023. The company's net sales rose in the fourth quarter, but margins, net income and core earnings fell. The company's fourth-quarter adjusted operating earnings, excluding restructuring charges, fell to 9.3 billion Swedish crowns from 12.8 billion a year earlier. Net sales rose 21% to 86 billion crowns, beating estimates of 84.2 billion. A settlement of a patent deal with Apple (AAPL.O) last month resulted in revenue of 6 billion crowns, but Ericsson also took 4 billion crowns in charges, including a provision for a potential fine from U.S. regulators and divestments.

☆ Ericsson earnings miss as slowing U.S. market hits margins
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It has also announced plans to cut costs by 9 billion crowns ($880 million) by the end of 2023. Ericsson expects a margin fall seen in its Networks business to persist through the first half of 2023 but the effect of cost savings to emerge in the second quarter. The company's fourth-quarter adjusted operating earnings excluding restructuring charges fell to 9.3 billion Swedish crowns ($902 million) from 12.8 billion a year earlier. Net sales rose 21% to 86 billion crowns, beating estimates of 84.2 billion. A settlement of a patent deal with Apple (AAPL.O) last month resulted in revenue of 6 billion crowns, but Ericsson also took 4 billion crowns in charges, including a provision for a potential fine from U.S. regulators and divestments.

☆ Ericsson's provision for U.S. probe hints of smaller fine, shares jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ericsson had in 2019 settled bribery allegations with U.S. authorities and agreed to be under review for three years. But it failed to fully disclose results of an internal investigation about potential payments to the Islamic State militant group in Iraq, leading to more regulatory scrutiny. Ericsson's announcement indicates that a resolution is nearer than the market expected, which removes much of the overhang to the investment case, Rosendal said. The Swedish telecom equipment maker said it believes its provision was based on a sufficiently reliable estimate of the financial penalty associated with any potential breach resolution. "The Company's internal investigation and its cooperation with authorities in relation to the allegations in the 2019 Iraq-related internal investigation report remain open and ongoing," Ericsson said.

☆ Ericsson makes $220 mln Iraq provision over US probe, shares rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STOCKHOLM, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Ericsson (ERICb.ST) said on Thursday it would book a 2.3 billion Swedish crown ($220 million) provision for an expected fine from the U.S. justice department over the company's handling of an earlier settlement related to its operations in Iraq. Ericsson had in 2019 settled bribery allegations with U.S. authorities and agreed to be under review for three years. But it failed to fully disclose results of an internal investigation about potential payments to the Islamic State militant group in Iraq, leading to more regulatory scrutiny. "The provision is significantly below both our and S&P's base case of about 10 billion SEK," he said. ($1 = 10.4692 Swedish crowns)Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje SolsvikOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ericsson's Cloud Software and Services unit books $76 mln charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STOCKHOLM, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Ericsson (ERICb.ST) on Wednesday announced a 800 million crown ($76 million) fourth-quarter charge linked to dropping some contracts and products at its loss-making Cloud Software and Services business. Its cash flow would take a 700 million crown hit from the action, mainly in 2023, it added. Shares in Ericsson, which is due to report fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 20, were up 1.2% at 1259 GMT. "That said, we still view Ericsson as a strong trade for 2023." ($1 = 10.5121 Swedish crowns)Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Supantha Mukherjee, editing by Terje Solsvik and John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark echoed that sentiment in a interview: "Our exit will be complete. "This will allow us to organise modern production of telecoms equipment in Russia," he said, without naming the operators or producers. Government programs to promote Russian equipment have helped telecoms operators become less reliant on Nokia and Ericsson over the past several years and Russian producers have increased their market share this year to 25.2% from 11.6% in 2021. Russian telecom operators stockpiled foreign-made parts in February and March ahead of sanctions, two of the industry sources said, but inventory will drop after Nokia and Ericsson pull the plug Dec. 31. Consolidation between Russian operators at the behest of the government might also allow them to share equipment and resources to make the networks last longer, industry sources added.

☆ Telecom equipment maker Ericsson divests Russian operation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HELSINKI, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson (ERICb.ST) said on Thursday it had divested a customer support operation in Russia. The new owners of the business, that has some 40 employees, come from the management of Ericsson's Russian subsidiary, the company said in a statement. Ericsson has previously announced it had decided to wind down its Russian businesses that used to employ 400 people. Reporting by Essi Lehto; editing by Niklas PollardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ericsson to invest in 6G network research in Britain
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Network equipment maker Ericsson (ERICb.ST) will invest millions of pounds in 6G mobile research in Britain, it said on Tuesday, working with universities on hardware security, AI and cognitive networks and quantum computing. The Swedish company, which supplies 5G gear to all four British mobile networks, said the 10-year initiative would help to drive development of next-generation 6G networks, which are expected to be commercially available about 2030. Ericsson's UK and Ireland CEO Katherine Ainley said that British universities are performing world-beating research in some of the technologies that would underpin next-generation networks. The new group will complement Ericsson's 17 existing research sites in 12 countries, she said. Reporting by Paul Sandle Editing by Kylie MacLellan and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

While the revenue of both companies beat expectations thanks to the rollout of 5G, delayed royalty payments meant their core profit missed analysts' expectations. Shares in Ericsson slumped 12% and were the worst performers in the STOXX 600 (.STOXX) while Nokia shares fell almost 5% to be among the worst. Companies such as Ericsson charge $2.50 to $5 for every 5G handset they sell and come under pressure when negotiating new contracts. Ericsson's quarterly royalty revenue fell 1.1 billion Swedish crowns ($98.24 million) as it battled companies such as Apple (AAPL.O) over patents. Nokia's patent revenue was down by 62 million euros ($60.67 million), mainly due to a dispute with Oppo and Vivo.

☆ Ericsson's quarterly earnings miss estimates
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

STOCKHOLM, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Sweden's Ericsson (ERICb.ST) on Thursday reported third-quarter core earnings that missed expectations for the second quarter in a row, as margins took a hit from higher component and logistics costs. The company's quarterly adjusted operating earnings fell to 7.1 billion Swedish crowns ($633.05 million) from 8.8 billion crowns a year earlier, missing analysts' mean forecast of 8.73 billion, according to Refinitiv data. ($1 = 11.2155 Swedish crowns)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; editing by Niklas PollardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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