Ericsson says its Middle East sales rose by 12 per cent in the last quarter of 2012 - but says the regional market for telecoms networks is becoming increasingly tough.
The Swedish company - which installs mobile networks on behalf of operators - reported worse-than-expected figures for the last quarter of 2011.
Its global profits for the quarter fell to 1.15 billion kronor ($170 million), down from 4.32 billion kronor during the same period in 2010.
However, Ericsson's revenues over the year as a whole grew to 12.19 billion kronor, up 12 per cent on 2010. The Middle East underperformed the global average, with an increase in revenues of just 2 per cent.
Hans Vestberg, the president and chief executive of Ericsson, said the company's global business had seen a "gross margin impact" in the last quarter of the year.
Margins are also becoming tighter in the Middle East region, said Anders Lindblad, the president and chief executive of Ericsson in the Middle East.
"The margins did drop, in particular in the latter part of the year. The whole industry is under a lot of pressure. In the Middle East, we're not immune to that," said Mr Lindblad.
Ericsson's Middle East sales in the last three months of 2011 were 12 per cent higher than the same period in 2010, said Mr Lindblad. Telecoms projects in Saudi Arabia and Sudan drove the increase in sales in the last quarter, he added.
Ericsson reports lower margins on Middle East telecoms networks
Most popular today
