Ericsson has announced that the year 2011 was a year of strong sales growth of 12%, and sales for comparable units, adjusted for currency exchange rate effects and hedging, increased 19%. The Board of Directors proposes a dividend for 2011 of SEK 2.50 (2.25), an increase by 11%.
Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson said, "For the full year 2011, we had a strong sales growth and an increase in net income. In the fourth quarter, however, we saw weaker development in Networks, as well as an expected gross margin impact from a changed business mix with more coverage projects, modernization projects in Europe, and a higher services share. Group sales in the quarter were flat year-over-year and grew 15% sequentially, which is weaker than normal in the fourth quarter. The sequential growth is mainly driven by a strong development of 32% in Global Services, while Networks sales were weak, up only 2%. The sales development in Networks is mainly related to North America and Russia, where the trend continued from the third quarter with slower operator spending after a period of high investments in capacity. In addition, we saw some increased operator cautiousness during the quarter due to uncertainties such as economic development and political unrest in some countries."
He added, "In 2011, we have successfully executed on our strategy to leverage our strength in the growth areas mobile broadband, managed services and operating and business support systems. Many operators have had mobile broadband high on the agenda and the industry has during the year seen a shift to higher proportions of coverage buildouts. We implemented our strategy to capture new market share in the network modernization projects in Europe, despite their initial lower margins. We have further strengthened our market position in mobile networks."
