Ericsson reported fourth-quarter earnings below expectations today and reduced its 2007 market growth forecast.
Ericsson reported a pretax profit of €1.3 billion compared with €1.1 billion in the same period of 2005. The pretax profit was in the range of forecasts of €1.2 billion to €1.5 billion.
The group got a boost in the period from a strong performance by mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson, which produced record fourth-quarter earnings.
The lowering in guidance for 2007 was more in line with the expectation of sector analysts of a tough year ahead, though chief executive Carl-Henric Svanberg said he was upbeat about the possibility of outpacing the market.
A company spokesman said the new forecast implied market growth of 4 to 6 per cent. He said the group had lowered its market guidance as it had overestimated the growth of rivals in the sector.