Shares in Ericsson fell almost 7 per cent yesterday after the world's biggest maker of wireless network equipment revealed a bigger than expected drop in third-quarter earnings.

Net profits were down 72 per cent from last year as mobile operators cut back on capital expenditure.

Chief executive Carl-Henric Svanberg said there were signs of improvement in many of Ericsson's markets.

"What we are seeing right now is the new projects that were planned nine months or a year ago when the financial crisis was much tougher," he said. - (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)