News

Ericsson Reports Third-Quarter 2003 Profit

October 30, 2003 by Jeff Shepard

Ericsson (Sweden) announced profits for the third quarter of 2003, restructuring excluded. Book-to-bill was above one for the third consecutive quarter. Order bookings decreased sequentially by 1% to SEK 28.1 (20.5) b. Net sales in the third quarter grew 2% sequentially to SEK 28.0 (33.5) b. Currency exchange effects have had a negative impact on sales of 9% year-over-year.

Adjusted gross margin improved sequentially by 0.8 percentage points to 35.9% (32.6%) as a result of ongoing restructuring. Operating expense reductions are well on track, reaching an annualized run rate of SEK 38 (52) b. Adjusted income after financial items was SEK 1.0 (-3.6) b. compared to SEK -0.2 b. in the second quarter. Net currency exchange effects have had a negative impact of SEK 0.9 b. on operating income in the quarter.

Gross margin adjusted for restructuring costs improved for the third consecutive quarter to 35.9% (32.6%), a sequential increase from 35.1%. Net income was SEK -3.9 (-5.0) b. for the quarter. Financial expenses increased somewhat during the quarter due to increased interest rates tied to the company's credit rating.