Ericsson announces Q3 results to be significantly lower than expectations

Ericsson has announced that the business result for the third quarter 2016 will be significantly lower than company expectations.

The negative industry trends from the first half of 2016 have further accelerated, impacting Q3, 2016 numbers primarily in Segment Networks.

The sales decline was mainly driven by markets with weak macro-economic environment such as Brazil, Russia and the Middle East, impacting both coverage and capacity sales in those markets.

In addition, capacity sales in Europe were lower following completion of mobile broadband projects in 2015.

Jan Frykhammar, President and CEO says: "Our result is significantly lower than we expected, with a particularly weak end of the quarter, and deviates from what we previously have communicated regarding market development. The negative industry trends have further accelerated affecting primarily Segment Networks. Continued progress in our cost reduction programs did not offset the lower sales and gross margin. More in-depth analysis remains to be done but current trends are expected to continue short-term. We will continue to drive the ongoing cost program and implement further reductions in cost of sales to meet the lower sales volumes."

Ericsson's long-term relationships with every major telecom operator in the world allow people, business and society to fulfill their potential and create a more sustainable future.

The company's services, software and infrastructure - especially in mobility, broadband and the cloud - are enabling the telecom industry and other sectors to do better business, increase efficiency, improve the user experience and capture new opportunities.

With approximately 115,000 professionals and customers in 180 countries, Ericsson combines global scale with technology and services leadership. It is supporting networks that connect more than 2.5 billion subscribers.