Ericsson Turns To Profit In Q3, But Sales Drop - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Swedish telecom major LM Ericsson (ERIC) reported Tuesday that its third-quarter net income was 3.88 billion Swedish kronor, compared to last year's net loss of 30.49 billion kronor. Earnings per share were 1.14 kronor, compared to loss per share of 9.21 kronor a year ago.

Adjusted EBITA, a key earnings metric, was 7.76 billion kronor, up 64 percent from 4.72 billion kronor in the prior year. Adjusted EBITA margin improved to 12.6% from last year's 7.3%, benefiting from higher gross income and cost reduction actions, partly offset by targeted investments in R&D.

Sales for the quarter, meanwhile, fell 4 percent to 61.79 billion kronor from 64.47 billion kronor last year. Organic sales declined 1%, with strong growth in market area North America of 55% offset by declines in most other market areas.

Looking ahead, Borje Ekholm, President and CEO, said, "We see increasing customer momentum around programmable networks that deliver differentiated performance... We see signs that the overall market is stabilizing with North America, as an early adopter market, returning to growth... We expect our Networks sales to stabilize year-on-year during Q4, driven by continued good growth in North America. However, we anticipate further near-term sales pressure in Enterprise as we focus on profitable segments."

For more earnings news, earnings calendar, and earnings for stocks, visit rttnews.com.