Ericsson Q2 Net Loss Widens, While EBITA, Margin Climb; Stock Up

(RTTNews) - Shares of LM Ericsson were gaining more than 9 percent in the morning trading in Stockholm as well as around 6 percent in pre-market activity on the Nasdaq after the Swedish telecom major reported Friday significantly higher EBITA, a key earnings metric, in its second quarter. Meanwhile, net loss was sharply wider on hefty impairment charge as well as weak sales.

Looking ahead, Borje Ekholm, President and CEO, said, "We expect market conditions to remain challenging this year, as the pace of India investments slow, however our sales will benefit during the second half from contract deliveries in North America."

The company said it is on track to deliver the 12 billion kronor to 13 billion kronor IPR revenue target for 2024 following a new 5G patent licensing agreement that was signed in the quarter.

In the second quarter, net loss was 11 billion Swedish kronor, sharply wider than last year's loss of 597 million kronor. Loss per share was 3.34 kronor, compared to 0.21 kronor loss per share a year ago.

The latest results included 11.4 billion kronor impairment loss, relating to the impairment of intangible assets mainly attributed to the Vonage acquisition.

Earnings before interest and tax or EBIT loss was 13.52 billion kronor, compared to loss of 312 million kronor a year ago. EBITA was 2.43 billion kronor, significantly higher than prior year's 542 million kronor.

Adjusted EBIT was a loss of 11.89 billion kronor, compared to prior year's profit of 2.82 billion kronor. Adjusted EBIT excluding impairments were 3.23 billion kronor, up 14 percent from 2.82 billion kronor last year.

Adjusted EBITA was 4.05 billion kronor, 10 percent higher than prior year's 3.68 billion kronor. Adjusted EBITA margin was 6.8 percent, compared to 5.7 percent a year ago, which was partly offset by targeted R&D investments. .

Sales declined 7 percent to 59.85 billion kronor from last year's 64.44 billion kronor. Organic sales also dropped 7 percent, reflecting reduced operator investment levels across most geographies.

The company recorded a 11 percent decrease in Networks, as a return to growth in North America was more than offset by lower customer investment levels, primarily in India, after record investment levels in 2023.

Organic sales were stable in Cloud Software and Services, and in Enterprise.

Market area North America organic sales grew 14 percent, while market Area Europe and Latin America sales fell 3 percent and the drop was 44 percent in Market Area South East Asia, Oceania and India sales.

Organic sales in Market Area North East Asia declined 3 percent and the decline was 8 percent in Market Area Middle East and Africa.

In pre-market activity on the Nasdaq, Ericsson shares were gaining around 6.1 percent to trade at $6.78.

In Stockholm, Ericsson shares were trading at 73.98 kronor, up 8.9 percent.

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