ERICY says "no rebound in-site.
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Swedish phone-equipment maker Ericsson added to the dour outlook for communications industry, saying Wednesday that the company doesn't see a rebound in sales.
Chief Executive Kurt Hellstroem reiterated that Ericsson expects sales to end up flat to as much as 10 percent lower, according to press reports.
The company is still aiming for operating profit margins of 5 percent, Hellstroem said during Ericsson's annual meeting.
Shares of Ericsson (ERICY: news, chart, profile) slid 13 cetns, or 3 percent to $4.10 in early action.
Like other equipment makers, Ericsson has been hamstrung by sharp spending cutbacks among large phone companies. That's forced vendors to repeatedly cut financial forecasts -- and workers -- to offset the decline in orders.
The situation is particularly acute in Europe, where heavily indebted wireless carriers have moved to curtail expenses. Ericsson is the leading manufacturer of wireless-networking gear.
Sluggish global sales of wireless phones, meanwhile, continue to suggest that growth in the wireless industry will remain tepid through 2002 and perhaps beyond.
The advent of so-called Third Generation phones, capable of connecting to the Internet, have not triggered an upsurge in demand. |
