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Technology Stocks : Ericsson overlook? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: P2V who wrote (3153)	4/20/1999 9:04:00 AM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 5390

Reuters wrap-up on ERICY's upcoming earnings announcement. 04/20 06:27 Ericsson <LMEb.ST> seen under pressure again in Q1 By Paul de Bendern STOCKHOLM, April 20 (Reuters) - Swedish mobile phone and systems maker Ericsson is set to unveil another disappointing quarterly result on Thursday as it will not reflect the contribution of new handsets and acquisitions, analysts said. "There will be very little positive in this report," said Dresdner Kleinwort Benson telecom analyst Per Lindberg. "The first quarter results will be bleak across the line." Ericsson, the world's third largest mobile phone maker, is expected to post a pre-tax profit of 1.86 billion crowns ($222.8 million) for January-March 1999, a 29 percent drop over the same 1998 period, a Reuters survey of analysts showed. For the full year analysts expect a pre-tax profit of 19.88 billion crowns. By contrast, Finnish rival Nokia <NOK1V.HE> is seen posting a first quarter profit of 624 million euros ($664.8 million) on Thursday, up from 387 million a year ago. Ericsson, hit by falling demand for its public networks and loss of market share in mobile phones, is unlikely to recover until new handsets unveiled in recent months are out on the high street. Its T18 midrange model goes on sale in two weeks. Investors have already punished the company. Since its profit-warning last December, its shares have fallen 10.5 percent while the Stockholm all-share General index has risen 9.1 percent. Nokia has risen some 54 percent in the same period. At 0915 GMT on Tuesday Ericsson was down 9.5 crowns at 203.00. Chief Executive Sven-Christer Nilsson confirmed last month the group would develop negatively in the first quarter. He said sales had slowed while restructuring costs had set in. Ericsson said in January that income in the first half of 1999 would be worse than a year earlier because of uncertainty in markets, R&D costs and the launch of new phones. Savings from Ericsson's reorganisation were not expected to come through until the second half of the year. "This is hopefully the trough for Ericsson," said Dresdner Kleinwort Benson's Lindberg. Sweden's biggest company has been on the acquisition trail in recent weeks and has plans for further buys to guarantee itself a strong position as competition intensifies. Earlier this month it paid almost $500 million for two U.S. Internet-based datacom companies, Torrent Networking Technologies and TouchWave Inc. It also settled a patent dispute with U.S. Qualcomm <QCOM.O> over wireless technology and bought some of Qualcomm's wireless infrastructure business. The Torrent and TouchWave buys will have a slight negative effect on 1999 results, but give a positive effect in 2000. The first quarter is the first time Ericsson has presented results for its new divisions -- network operators, consumer products and enterprise solutions -- arising from last year's reorganisation focusing the group more on markets and consumers. Ericsson's old Mobile Phones and Terminals unit, whose performance has the greatest marginal impact on overall results, will come up with flat or lower first quarter sales as price pressures continued, analysts said. The unit is being incorporated into the Consumer Products division. "The mobile phones' problems are that they are extremely old and price erosion on them has been fierce," Evli Securities telecom analyst Martti Larjo told Reuters. The old Mobile Systems division, which has 60 percent of the world market for GSM mobile systems, is set to provide the main growth as the number of mobile users continues to grow rapidly. Almost 50 percent of sales comes from this unit, which is being split up into the Network Products and Enterprise Solutions divisions. "The positive side is the infrastructure division and mobile systems. I expect that result to be fairly good," Larjo said. COPYRIGHT © 1999 REUTERS LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

To: P2V who wrote (3153)	4/21/1999 4:33:00 PM
From: P2V	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5390

Ericsson further expands GSM system in Liaoning province, China -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wednesday, April 21 1999 Ericsson has signed a contract valued at USD 150 million (SEK 1,260 million) with the Liaoning Post & Telecommunications Administration (LPTA) for the fourth expansion of the province's GSM network. Scheduled for completion in June of next year, the project will expand the capacity of Ericsson's GSM 900 network in the Chinese province to nearly 2.5 million subscribers. The equipment will be supplied by one of Ericsson's joint venture companies in China, Beijing Ericsson Mobile Communications Company Ltd. Ericsson began its cooperation with the LPTA in 1984 when the company first introduced its digital switches to Liaoning's fixed network. Ericsson's TACS cellular network equipment was introduced in the province in 1993, with GSM arriving in 1995. Ericsson China has more than 3,600 employees, 23 offices in different parts of the country and eight joint ventures that provide a full range of communications solutions and services. Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with the freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over. Please visit Ericsson's Press Room at: ericsson.se FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Johan Wiklund, Ericsson Corporate Communications Phone: +46 70 560 0134; E-mail: johan.wiklund@lme.ericsson.se Mr. Mark Tian, Corporate Press Relations Officer Ericsson (China) Co. Ltd. Phone: +86 10 656 15566; Fax: +86 10 656 11867 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: bit.se bit.se -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Auto-processed by EriPressHandler