Telecoms equipment business Ericsson has released quarterly and annual results, showing a rise in annual sales.
Net sales for the year were up 12% to 226.9 billion kronor (£21.4 billion), with net annual income up 12% to 12.6 billion kronor. However, Q4 income was down 66% year-on-year to 1.5 billion kronor.
Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson, said “For the full year 2011, we had a strong sales growth and an increase in net income. In the fourth quarter, however, we saw weaker development in Networks, as well as an expected gross margin impact from a changed business mix with more coverage projects, modernization projects in Europe, and a higher services share. Group sales in the quarter were flat year-over-year and grew 15% sequentially, which is weaker than normal in the fourth quarter. The sequential growth is mainly driven by a strong development of 32% in Global Services, while Networks sales were weak, up only 2%. The sales development in Networks is mainly related to North America and Russia, where the trend continued from the third quarter with slower operator spending after a period of high investments in capacity. In addition, we saw some increased operator cautiousness during the quarter due to uncertainties such as economic development and political unrest in some countries.”
[Results (pdf)]