Swedish mobile phone maker Ericsson has posted a heavy full-year loss and says conditions will remain challenging for several months.
It made its first net loss of €2.31 billion - or 21.3 billion Swedish kronor - during 2001. This compares with a net income of 21 billion kronor in 2000.
President and chief executive Mr Kurt Hellström said: "We are now in a much stronger position to capitalise on market opportunities and restore profitability in 2002.
"Although the market will be particularly challenging in the beginning of 2002, we maintain our objective of over 5 per cent operating margin for the full year".
Ericsson has been hit by declining orders for 2G mobile phones, but it has seen strong growth in orders from 3G network providers. The company is shipping 3G systems to more than 30 operators and claims a 60 per cent share in all 3G orders.
Ericsson sees 200 million new mobile subscribers being added worldwide in 2002, indicating a growth rate of between 20 per cent and 25 per cent. It stands by its long-term forecast of 1.6 billion mobile subscribers by the end of 2005.
Shedding staff enabled the company to trim fourth-quarter costs by 20 per cent year-on-year. Over the quarter, another 4,700 staff were made redundant to reduce the total workforce to around 85,000.
PA