After witnessing rivals Motorola and Lucent ring up healthy quarterly results (as reported yesterday), Sweden’s Ericsson has performed likewise by recording 18% year-on-year sales growth for the three months to 30 June 2005, with revenues reaching SEK38.4 billion (USD5.2 billion), well above analyst expectations of SEK35 billion. The North American division was the most impressive performer, with turnover from the region up 31% from twelve months ago. Elsewhere, the conversion of TDMA networks to the Ericsson-backed GSM standard in Argentina and Brazil contributed significantly to Latin America sales climbing by 28%. Overall net income came in at SEK5.8 billion (USD790 million), up by more than 15% over the corresponding period last year and 20% higher than that of the first quarter of 2005. A spokesman for Ericsson confirmed that the company had altered its forecast for 2004 from ‘slight growth’ to ‘moderate growth’.
In separate but related news, fellow vendor Nokia is due to release its second quarter 2005 figures later today. Sales at the Finnish giant are expected to reach USD9.9 billion, with net income of USD1.1 billion.