5000...more- Ericsson's fourth-quarter earnings beat expectations, helped by a weak Swedish crown, and the firm promised deeper savings including 5,000 job cuts as the recession hits demand.
The world's top mobile telecom equipment maker's results contrasted with recent grim newsflow in the sector, where one of the top players, Canadian Nortel Networks, filed for bankruptcy protection last week.
The company, which released the results more than a week ahead of schedule for a fourth consecutive forecast-topping report, also failed to give a specific business outlook, which gave some analysts cause for concern.
By 1038 GMT, shares in the company were up 13.8 percent at 63.7 Swedish crowns, lifting shares in smaller rival Alcatel-Lucent 4.4 percent. the DJ Stoxx European tech sector was up 2.9 percent.
Ericsson's quarterly net profit fell to 4.1 billion crowns, but beat analysts' median forecast of 3.5 billion in a Reuters poll of 13 analysts.
"The fourth quarter is very, very strong," said Greger Johansson, an analyst at Redeye.
"But at the same time, they take away the planning assumption and increase savings, and that implies their view of 2009 has been lowered ... I think that some people will get worried about the fact that they don't say anything about 2009."
Chief Executive Carl-Henric Svanberg said the global financial crisis and ensuing downturn meant it was unrealistic for the group to issue any market forecast. It had earlier said its 2009 planning was based on a flattish market.
Ericsson's closest rivals -- Nokia Siemens Networks and Alcatel-Lucent -- have forecast business will shrink this year as telecoms operators cap spending and Asian rivals put pressure on prices.
"Nailing it down to specific numbers is not really realistic," Svanberg told a news conference.
"Because there is an uncertainty that goes beyond our industry -- an uncertainty that goes more into GDP developments and the financial crisis, how that spreads, and how the economic downturn plays out in various countries."
WEATHERING CRISIS
Ericsson's fourth quarter sales rose 23 percent from a year ago -- with the weaker crown accounting for less than half of the rise -- to 67.0 billion and beating all forecasts in a Reuters poll.
The Swedish crown weakened sharply in late 2008.
"Basically every market unit around the world in basically every country had a bit higher activity in Q4 than I think most expected," Svanberg said.
Svanberg said the global financial crisis was so far not affecting the mobile infrastructure market much as operators had healthy financial positions and traffic was growing briskly.
"That means for us that we do not expect that the effects on our industry should be as significant as it will be in other parts of society," Svanberg said.
Ericsson said it was stepping up its cost-savings efforts and was cutting 5,000 jobs, aiming to reach annual savings of 10 billion crowns by the second half of 2010.
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