STOCKHOLM, Oct 19 Reuters - Sweden's Ericsson reported third quarter core earnings above market estimates on Tuesday, as strong sales of 5 G equipment in most countries offset a loss of market share in mainland China.
The Swedish operating earnings rose from 8.8 billion to 8.6 billion two years ago to 8.8 billion, beating the typical forecast of 7.85 billion, according to Refinitiv estimates.
While both Ericsson and its rival Nokia have benefited from the ban on China's Huawei in several countries, the ban on the Chinese company was used in Sweden to get a contract for the Swedish company in China.
Ericsson gets just under 10% of its revenue from China.
As a consequence of the reduced market share in mainland China, we are planning to resize our sales and delivery organization in the country, beginning in the fourth quarter, Chief Executive B rje Ekholm said in a statement.
Sales in mainland China of networks and digital services declined 3.6 billion crowns in the quarter.
Total revenue for the telecom equipment maker, a rival of Huawei and Nokia, fell 2% to 56.3 billion crowns, missing the 58.14 billion crowns seen by analysts.