News Alert from Reuters via Quote.com
Topic: (NYSE:MOT) Motorola Inc,
Quote.com News Item #5656908
Headline: Ericsson Mobile Phones says '98 sales on target
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STOCKHOLM, March 6 (Reuters) - The mobile phone division of
Swedish telecoms group Ericsson (SWED:LME.B) said on Friday that its
sales so far this year had gone according to plan.
In the wake of a first quarter profit warning by U.S.
competitor Motorola (NYSE:MOT), Ericsson Mobile Phones said sales
in crisis-hit Asia were surprisingly good.
"Sales so far this year are going according to our plans.
This also applies to markets in Asia," Jan Ahrenbring, marketing
head of Mobile Phones and Termials division, told Reuters.
Earlier Ericsson's mobile phones division noted a weakening
in Asia, above all on markets in Thailand, Malaysia, the
Philippines and Indonesia.
"These sales have gone surprisingly well. In Indonesia it's
not very easy to do business but in the other countries --
Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines -- it's going
surprisingly well," Ahrenbring said.
Motorola Inc (NYSE:MOT) said on Thursday it expected
first-quarter earnings to fall well short of the investment
community's current expectations, citing continued weakness in
Asian currencies which hurt its semiconductor products group.
"There is a downturn but it's most noticeable on the CDMA
standard which Ericsson does not sell. As I said, our sales are
going according to plan," Ahrenbring said.
Price pressure on mobile telephones is at the same pace as
at the end of 1997.
"The price pressure that the industry is forecasting if
about 20 percent per year. The pace so far is not different than
what we saw in 1997," Ahrenbring said.
stockholm.newsroom@reuters.com))
Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service |
