Ericsson reports rising profits in Q1

Global telecommunications equipment giant Ericsson reported improving profitability in the first quarter of 2014, despite uncertainties in both economic and political realms.

The company’s net profits rose to US$259 million in the first three months, rising 41 percent over the same period last year, according to the company’s Q1 2014 financial report released on Wednesday.

Despite challenges in its traditional strongholds North America and Japan, where 3G and 4G rollouts have peaked, Ericsson has witnessed increasing sales in China, the Middle East and Latin America.

In China’s market, the country’s three heavyweight operators – China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom – have rolled up their sleeves to deploy 4G long-term-evolution (LTE) networks, as Beijing ratchets up efforts to increase infrastructure investments to withstand a slump of the economy.

Hans Vestberg, president and chief executive officer, said that in a transforming the ICT market, Ericsson will continue to evolve through vigorous investments both into its core business and in new and targeted areas – including software, cloud technology, multimode thin modems and the like.

However, political uncertainty in parts of the Middle East and Africa, and in Russia and Ukraine, will impact Ericsson’s sales there.

Ericsson is well positioned to continue to stay relevant and competitive and assist its customers to capture new market opportunities, Vestberg said in a statement.