"Group sales in the quarter declined -9% year-over-year with lower sales in Networks but with an increase in Global Services," says Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC).
"Sales for comparable units, adjusted for currency exchange rate effects and hedging declined year-over-year -16%. Voice related sales, such as 2G, continued to decline in the quarter but were partly offset by increased 3G sales. Sales were also impacted by tight industry component supply conditions.
Gross margin improved, positively affected by business mix and continued efficiency gains. Cash flow improved year-over-year. The work to regain profitability in our joint ventures is on track and Sony Ericsson shows improved results year-over-year.
The market conditions we saw in the second half of 2009 prevailed also in this quarter with mixed operator investment behavior across regions and markets. Operators in a number of developing markets were still cautious with their investments which impacted Networks' sales while Professional Services sales were good also this quarter.
During the quarter, the mobile data traffic increase continued, mainly in North America and Western Europe, driven by increased consumer usage of smartphones and other devices. We forecast that mobile data traffic will double annually over the next five years. In markets with strong data traffic uptake, we increasingly discuss with operators how to manage the higher data volumes and how to maintain a good consumer user experience. The 16 managed services contracts signed during the quarter reflect increased operator focus on network quality and efficiency.
We also continued to strengthen our position in North America with the important 4G/LTE agreement with AT&T. With a clear roadmap for CDMA, customers show confidence in our broadened offering. The acquired CDMA business developed favorably during the quarter," concludes Hans Vestberg.
First quarter Fourth quarter
SEK b. 2010 2009 Change 2009 Change
Net sales 45.1 49.6 -9% 58.3 -23%
Gross margin 39% 36% - 35% -
EBITA margin excl JVs1) 13% 12% - 15% -
Operating income excl JVs 4.5 4.7 -4% 7.5 -39%
Operating margin excl JVs 10% 10% - 13% -
Ericsson's share
in earnings in JVs -0.3 -2.2 - -0.4 -
Income after financial items 4.1 3.3 23% 6.7 -38%
Net income 1.3 1.8 -30% 0.7 76%
EPS diluted, SEK 0.39 0.54 - 0.10 -
Adjusted cash flow2) 3.0 -1.7 - 13.6 -
Cash flow from operations 2.3 -2.9 - 12.5 -
Restructuring charges excl JVs 2.2 0.7 - 4.2
All numbers, excl. EPS, Net income and Cash flow from operations, excl. restructuring charges.
1) EBITA - Earnings before interest, tax, amortizations and write-downs of acquired intangibles.
2) Cash flow from operations excl. restructuring cash outlays that have been provided for. Cash outlays in the quarter were SEK 0.7 (1.2) b. For the fourth quarter, cash outlays amounted to SEK 1.1 b.
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Labels: Ericsson
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