Ericsson profits slip

Wireless equipment maker Ericsson posted a 2 per cent drop in its second-quarter profits on Friday as costs associated with the Marconi buyout sink in.

The Swedish firm said its net profit was Kr5.71bn ($781m/£421m), down from Kr5.84bn kronor in the second quarter a year ago. Things could have been worse for Ericsson but its figures received a boost from a significant rise in pre-tax profits at the Sony Ericsson venture which noted a 33 per cent hike in sales, giving Ericsson a Kr1bn cut.

Ericsson CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg said in a statement that Ericsson remained well positioned to win market share.

Ericsson’s earnings were affected by an amortisation charge of Kr400m related to Marconi. Ericsson bought the loss making, UK-based Marconi in January for $2.1bn. Marconi made a loss of Kr200m for the quarter.