Ericsson reports six per cent rise in Q3 net profit to US$574 million

Ericsson has reported a 17 per cent rise in its third-quarter sales year-on-year of SEK55.5 billion (US$8.4 billion) while net profit rose six per cent to SEK 3.8 billion.

Gross margin in the quarter was down year-over-year to 35 per cent. A higher proportion of coverage projects along with accelerating network modernisation projects in Europe impacted gross margin negatively. Sequentially the increased share of services business also had a negative impact.

Networks sales grew 25 per cent year-over-year, and a decrease of three per cent quarter-on-quarter due to seasonality and reduced CDMA sales in North America.

Sales in Global Services grew seven per cent year-over-year and sequentially, while Professional Services, currency adjusted, grew by 13 per cent year-over-year. Managed Services showed good development with increased sales of 12 per cent sequentially, following 24 new managed services contracts reported in the second quarter. Multimedia sales grew 11 per cent year-over-year and eight per cent sequentially, with good traction also this quarter for revenue management in Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.