Ericsson Q3 Profit Surges On Divestment Gain, Net Sales Down

(RTTNews) - Swedish telecom major LM Ericsson (ERIC) reported Tuesday significantly higher profit in its third quarter, benefited by a capital gain from the divestment of iconectiv. Meanwhile, net sales declined on a reported and organic basis from the prior year.

Looking ahead for the fourth quarter, the company expects Enterprise organic sales to stabilize and the RAN market to remain broadly stable.

In the third quarter, net income surged 191 percent to 11.30 billion Swedish kronor from last year's 3.88 billion kronor. Earnings per share grew 192 percent to 3.33 kronor from 1.14 kronor a year ago.

EBITA, a key earnings metric, grew 150 percent from last year to 15.52 billion kronor. EBITA margin improved to 27.6 percent from 10.0 percent last year.

Adjusted EBITA was 15.82 billion kronor, up 104 percent from last year. Adjusted EBITA margin grew to 28.1 percent from prior year's 12.6 percent.

Net sales for the quarter dropped 9 percent to 56.24 billion kronor from prior year's 61.79 billion kronor. Organic sales declined 2 percent, with growth in three out of four market areas.

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