STOCKHOLM - Sweden’s Ericsson on Wednesday reported quarterly core earnings that beat market estimates, helped by higher margins and China’s 5G rollout, and said it was “more confident” in meeting its 2020 targets.
Third-quarter adjusted operating earnings rose to 9.0 billion Swedish crowns from 6.5 billion a year ago, beating the mean forecast of 6.98 billion crowns, according to Refinitiv estimates.“While the pandemic has hurt revenues for several of our customers, and in some cases this has led to a reduction of capex, we have not seen any negative impact on our business, largely due to footprint gains,” Chief Executive Borje Ekholm said in a statement.
Ericsson said contracts in China have developed according to plan, contributing to profits in the third quarter and are expected to improve further.