Ericsson has reported its first quarter results which reflect an increase driven by the growth the Swedish vendor has registered in North America.
“For the third consecutive quarter we showed organic sales growth, this quarter by 7%. Growth was mainly driven by North America. Our strategy, to work with lead customers in lead markets, is generating both 5G business and hands-on experience in 5G rollout and commercialization. To date we have publicly announced commercial 5G deals with 18 named operator customers, which, at the moment, is more than any other vendor”, commented Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson.
Gross margin improved to 38.5% compared to 35.9% last year, driven by improvements in segments Networks and Managed Services, and also by the recently signed patent license agreement with OPPO.
Segment Networks had a strong quarter with an organic sales growth of 10% YoY, driven by increased investments in North America. Networks gross margin improved to 43.2% versus 40.4% YoY, mainly due to higher hardware capacity sales and IPR revenues.
“In the quarter we announced our intent to acquire the German company Kathrein’s antenna and filters business. This will further expand our capabilities in the advanced active and passive antenna domains, which are growing in importance as 5G evolves”, Ericsson CEO and President said.
“The 5G market is gaining momentum and we are well positioned to capture opportunities. We will continue to make substantial investments in R&D, especially in 5G, automation and AI. This is a key part of our focused strategy to strengthen our long-term business and path to reaching our targets for 2020 and 2022”, he concluded.
