Ericsson's 1Q earnings dive on restructuring costs
Ericsson's 1Q earnings plunge on restructuring charges, sales up on North America gains
STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Wireless equipment maker Ericsson says that first quarter earnings dropped 86 percent to 1.2 billion kronor ($180 million) compared with the same period last year after restructuring charges connected with the downsizing of its Sweden-based operations.
The Stockholm-headquartered company says sales over the three months ticked up 2 percent year-on-year to 52 billion kronor, with North America showing the strongest growth at 23 percent.
The company said Wednesday that the sharp fall in first quarter performance also stemmed from gains made in the beginning of 2012 after Ericsson divested its stake in the mobile phone venture with the Sony Corp.
Last month Ericsson, the world's largest supplier of mobile phone infrastructure, announced that it was splitting up another joint venture with STMicroelectronics, one of Europe's largest chipmakers.
