Swedish telecoms manufacturer Ericsson today released its Q4 and year-end financial results, showing margin growth alongside flat sales.
Gross margin increased in Q4 year-on-year and sequentially, driven by higher software sales and efficiency increases.
Annual net profit decreased slightly to SEK11.1 billion from SEK12.2 billion the previous year. Meanwhile, Q4 profits declined 35% year-on-year.
Sales in the quarter were up 1% year-on-year, with strong sales in EMEA offsetting decline in the US. The annual net sales remained flat at SEK228 billion, up only marginally from SEK227.4 the previous year.
"Sales in North America were mainly driven by operator investments in capacity and quality enhancements also this quarter, although at a slower pace," said CEO Hans Vestburg. "Business activity slowed further in the quarter as operators remained focused on cash flow optimization in order to finance major acquisitions and spectrum auctions."
"Consumer demand and mobile data traffic growth continues to be strong in North America. However, with current visibility, and for the reasons above, we anticipate the North American mobile broadband business to remain slow in the short-term."
