Ericsson announces Q4 & full year Report
Ericsson has announced its fourth quarter and full year report. 2011 was claimed to be a year of strong sales growth of 12%, and sales for comparable units, adjusted for currency exchange rate effects and hedging, increased 19%. In spite of weak JV results, net income increased SEK 1.3 b. to SEK 12.6 b., driven by higher sales and lower restructuring charges. The Board of Directors proposes a dividend for 2011 of SEK 2.50 (2.25), an increase by 11%.
Hans Vestberg, President & CEO - Ericsson said, "For the full year 2011, we had a strong sales growth and an increase in net income. In the fourth quarter, however, we saw weaker development in Networks, as well as an expected gross margin impact from a changed business mix with more coverage projects, modernization projects in Europe, and a higher services share. Group sales in the quarter were flat year-over-year and grew 15% sequentially, which is weaker than normal in the fourth quarter. The sequential growth is mainly driven by a strong development of 32% in Global Services, while Networks sales were weak, up only 2%. The sales development in Networks is mainly related to North America and Russia, where the trend continued from the third quarter with slower operator spending after a period of high investments in capacity. In addition, we saw some increased operator cautiousness during the quarter due to uncertainties such as economic development and political unrest in some countries."
"We believe that the industry fundamentals for longer-term positive development remain solid. Short-term, we expect operators to continue to be cautious with spending, reflecting factors such as macro economic and political uncertainty. We will continue to execute on our strategy which means that the business mix, with more coverage and network modernization projects than capacity projects, will prevail short-term. With our global scale and presence, as well as technology and services leadership, we are well positioned to continue to drive and lead the industry development," concludes Vestberg.
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