* Update on short term strategy execution and actions to continue to drive
profitable growth and increase margins
* High-level, long-term strategy beyond 2015 outlined with focus on extending
today's market leading position by investments in targeted growth areas
* Outlook on market growth for 2012-2016 in key market segments
Today at Ericsson's (NASDAQ:ERIC) annual Investor Day, President and CEO Hans
Vestberg will give an update on the company's strategy execution and, for the
first time, give an overview of Ericsson's longer term strategy, beyond 2015.
Vestberg will describe key priorities for 2014 for achieving profitable growth
combined with continued focus on cost and efficiency, and strengthened
commercial excellence. Key ingredients in this plan include monetizing the
investments in footprint that the company has established in Europe, continued
structural improvements to shorten order-to-cash cycle time, and to evolve the
infrastructure software model to fit an ICT environment.
Vestberg said: "Looking at sales growth in a longer perspective, it is
encouraging to see that we grew twice as fast as the market in 2010-2012,
currency adjusted. This is proof that our strategy is effective and that we are
delivering real value to our customers."
Looking beyond 2015, Ericsson will leverage its core assets: the combined
strength of its technology and services leadership and its global scale, which
enables investment decisions in targeted areas for growth, such as IP, OSS, BSS,
TV & Media, and Modems.
"Our market leading position gives us a unique opportunity to work with the most
successful customers around the world. Our leading position in North America,
currently the most advanced ICT market in the world, gives us a head start in
understanding the changing industry landscape. As our customers' businesses
transform, our job is to make sure that we continue to turn our global
experience and leading technology into attractive and relevant solutions,
driving greater profits for them," stated Vestberg.
In addition to Vestberg, Ericsson's CFO and Executive Vice President Jan
Frykhammar will discuss financial metrics, as well as elaborate how sales came
under some pressure in the third quarter, and reiterate that this is mainly due
to FX headwind combined with lower activity in three large projects in North
America and Japan. In light of the current FX headwind Ericsson is experiencing,
Jan Frykhammar will put special focus on describing the company's FX strategy.
"With strong cash flow, we will be able to invest in profitable growth, maintain
a stable dividend and ensure a strong cash position to attract new business,"
said Frykhammar.
Ericsson will also present a market outlook for 2012-2016. Steady growth is
expected across all areas with no major changes in figures for the main compound
annual growth rates (CAGR), compared with last year. Ericsson estimates that the
total network equipment market will show a CAGR of 3-5%; telecom services is
estimated to show a CAGR of 5-7%; and the market for support solutions is
forecasted to show a CAGR of 9-11%.
Alongside Vestberg and Frykhammar, executive leadership team members Johan
Wibergh, Head of Business Unit Networks, Magnus Mandersson, Head of Business
Unit Global Services, Per Borgklint, Head of Business Unit Support Solutions,
Ulf Ewaldsson, Chief Technology Officer, and Douglas Gilstrap, Head of Group
Function Strategy, will present at today's event, which takes place in
Stockholm.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Presentation material and access to a live webcast of the event are available
from our website: www.ericsson.com/thecompany/investors.
An on-demand version of the webcast will also be available here, shortly after
the event.
Download high-resolution photos and broadcast-quality video at
www.ericsson.com/press
Ericsson is a world-leading provider of communications technology and services.
We are enabling the Networked Society with efficient real-time solutions that
allow us all to study, work and live our lives more freely, in sustainable
societies around the world.
Our offering comprises services, software and infrastructure within Information
and Communications Technology for telecom operators and other industries. Today
40 percent of the world's mobile traffic goes through Ericsson networks and we
support customers' networks servicing more than 2.5 billion subscriptions.
We are more than 110,000 people working with customers in more than 180
countries. Founded in 1876, Ericsson is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. In
2012 the company's net sales were SEK 227.8 billion (USD 33.8 billion). Ericsson
is listed on NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm and NASDAQ, New York stock exchanges.
www.ericsson.com
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Ericsson Corporate Communications
Phone: +46 10 719 69 92
E-mail: media.relations@ericsson.com
Ericsson Investor Relations
Phone: +46 10 719 00 00
E-mail: investor.relations@ericsson.com
Ericsson discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Securities
Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was
submitted for publication on November 6, 2013 at 08:00 CET.
[HUG#1740810]
