Ericsson profits soar despite significant market share loss in Mainland China

Telecom manufacturer Ericsson, with CEO Börje Ekholm, presented the financial statements for 2021. Photo: Marko Säävälä / TT

The Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson has reported a rise in net profit in 2021, with a better-than-expected performance in the fourth quarter despite significant market share loss in Mainland China.

Regarding the telecom giant’s fourth-quarter and full-year results 2021, Ericsson reports an operating profit of SEK 11.9 billion for the fourth quarter of 2021, which can be compared with SEK 11 billion during the same quarter of 2020, Aftonbladet writes.

Analysts had on average calculated close to SEK 10 billion, according to a Bloomberg survey. The share price rose 7.6 percent.

Börje Ekholm, President, and CEO of Ericsson say, “We have had a good development, gained market share and that pace has accelerated during the year. We have seen good demand and above all, despite the tough situation in supply chains, we have been able to meet it thanks to our fantastic employees in the company. Ekholm notes that the profitability target was reached a year earlier than expected. Now the management is stepping up the pace.

“We will have better profitability in a couple of years,” Ekholm says.

Ericsson has grown by 15 percent in North America mainly due to the 5G rollout and gained market share, says Börje Ekholm. The company has also gained market share in Europe and Latin America.

But in China, the decline continues.

“We have received a significantly lower market share allocation in China than we had hoped for, and we see it as a consequence of the Swedish decision,” Ekholm explains.

The decision he is referring to is the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency’s decision to exclude the Chinese company Huawei from expanding the Swedish telecommunications network, a decision which was then upheld by the administrative court.

“As always, in whatever market you are in: If you see adversity, you must see it as a starting point to win back. We will continue to work, we have been in China for many years, and we will continue to work there,” Ekholm says.

 

About Gregers Møller

Editor-in-Chief • ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. • Bangkok, Thailand

View all posts by Gregers Møller

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *