Ericsson reports record profit

Net sales was SEK 45.7 (39.4) b. in the quarter, full year SEK 151.8 (132.0) b. Net income was SEK 8.5 (5.6) b. in the quarter, full year SEK 24.3 (17.5) b. 1). Earnings per share was SEK 0.54 (0.35) in the quarter, full year SEK 1.53 (1.11) 1). "We have concluded another good year with strong sales, earnings and cash flow," says Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson. "We also continue to gain market shares thanks to our customers' confidence in our technology and people. Operational excellence is proving to be a key competitive advantage and we continue to strive for efficiency gains throughout our operations. The strong WCDMA/HSDPA development continues. The higher HSDPA transmission speeds make a dramatic difference to the user experiences and we expect most WCDMA operators to launch HSDPA before year-end 2006. So far we have installed 21 networks with HSDPA capabilities in 17 countries around the world, spearheading the development to mobile broadband. Convergence and next generation IP networks continue to be key development areas for the industry. The upgrade to fixed and mobile broadband is accelerating traffic in the world's networks. The acquisition of Marconi is a strategic move to strengthen our position, both in terms of our offering for the growing transmission segment and in the development of next generation networks," concludes Carl-Henric Svanberg. Click here to read the full report (www.ericsson.com).