STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Ericsson on Tuesday said it expected the uncertainty impacting its mobile networks business to persist into 2024, after reporting a fall in third-quarter revenue as demand for 5G equipment fell in North America.
The company, which pre-announced its results last week and took a $2.9 billion impairment charge over its Vonage acquisition, said it expects current quarter results to be similar to the third quarter.
Networks organic sales in North America were down by 60% from last year as telecom customers adjusted their inventory and were slower to roll out new equipment. North America now accounts for 23% of Ericsson’s sales compared with 48% earlier.
“While near-term dynamics are uncertain, we are convinced that the recovery will come,” CEO Borje Ekholm said in a statement.
“Our goal is to make Ericsson a more profitable company, returning to our cash flow target level and capturing the next major wave of networks innovation with a substantial platform business,” he added.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, editing by Terje Solsvik)
