Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm (pictured) pointed to increased customer interest in programmable networks and signs the overall market for its equipment was stabilising during Q3, though warned of expected further pressure on Enterprise unit sales in the near-term.

In the company’s financial results statement, the executive highlighted the market in North America had returned to growth, with this expected to continue. It anticipates overall sales in its Networks division to become stable year-on-year in Q4, driven by its performance in the region.

For Q3, the company booked another drop in sales to SEK61.8 billion ($5.9 billion), down 4 per cent. It turned a net profit of SEK3.9 billion compared with a loss of SEK30.5 billion in Q3 2023, though the latter figure included a SEK32 billion impairment charge.  

Ekholm said its performance demonstrated “our progress, with strong gross margin expansion and free cashflow, benefitting from our commercial discipline and operational efficiency actions”.

“While the market development is ultimately in the hands of our customers, we are working to deliver operational excellence regardless of market conditions,” he added.

Citing interest from customers “around programmable networks that deliver differentiated performance”, the executive outlined an expectation this would further increase, partly supported by a joint venture with a group of operators focused on APIs announced in September.   

Although largely focused on the positives, Ekholm acknowledged its Enterprise unit is expected to suffer “further near-term sales pressure” as it focuses on profitable segments.

“We launched a new private 5G enterprise product portfolio in Q3 to support performance improvement, which remains a key priority,” he noted.

The positive comments on the network market come days after analyst company Dell’Oro Group predicted further declines in RAN revenue until 6G investments begin.