Ericsson posts profits for quarter, year

Wireless handset maker Ericsson today posted fourth-quarter and full-year profits, enjoying sales increases in all of its markets except one: North America.

For the fourth quarter of 2004, Stockholm-based Ericsson earned 6 billion kronor ($847 million U.S.)—0.38 kronor a share—compared with Q4 2003 earnings of 142 million kronor, or 0.01 kronor a share. Sales grew nearly 9% to 39.4 billion kronor ($5.5 billion) from 36.2 billion kronor the year before.

For the year, Ericsson posted a net profit of 19 billion kronor ($2.7 billion), or 1.20 kronor a share; a year ago, the company suffered losses of 10.8 billion kronor, or 0.69 kronor a share. Annual revenue climbed to 131.9 billion kronor ($18.6 billion) from 117.7 billion kronor in 2003.

“This has been a year with a number of strategic business wins in both systems and professional services, and we have clearly strengthened our market position further,” Ericsson CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg said in a statement.

In its fourth quarter report, Ericsson credited its surging global sales to strong seasonal demand everywhere except North America. “North America showed a temporary slow down in capital expenditure due to operator consolidation,” the report stated. “As competition accelerates, operators are increasing their focus on quality and coverage as well as the introduction of new services. This paves the way for a positive development going forward.”