Ericsson beats quarterly core profit estimates despite sales slip

(Reuters) -Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson reported a rise in quarterly core earnings that beat expectations on Tuesday, as operational improvements drove margins growth despite a decline in sales. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) excluding restructuring charges were 15.4 billion Swedish crowns ($1.62 billion) in the quarter ended in September. That was 9.2% higher than the 14.1 billion crowns forecast in an Infront consensus poll of analysts provided by the company. Cost savings and a dominant position in North America have helped Ericsson stay ahead of Nordic rival Nokia in the 5G race, but revenue weakness and tariffs are overshadowing its outlook. The Swedish group has outperformed rivals in winning U.S. contracts, mainly a $14 billion deal with AT&T, making it the world's second-biggest vendor in the radio access network market after Huawei, according to estimates from research firm Dell'Oro. Third-quarter net sales were 9% down from a year ago at 56.2 billion crowns but came in above the analysts' expectation of 55.7 billion. However, sales in Americas slowed down by 8% from 2024, with the company pointing to previous deliveries and network investments by large customers in the same period last year. ($1 = 9.4988 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Agnieszka Olenska; Editing by Matt Scuffham)

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