Wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson on Friday reported first-quarter profits that rose 73 percent, with help from strong sales in Latin America and western Europe, but remained cautious on its outlook for the year. The results, which beat analysts' expectations, came a day after Finnish rival Nokia also posted better-than-expected earnings. Ericsson's net income for the quarter ending March 31 rose 73 percent to 4.64 billion kronor (¤505 million, US$660 million) from 2.68 billion kronor in the same period last year. Sales increased 12 percent to 31.47 billion kronor (¤3.43 billion, US$4.47 billion) from 28.11 billion kronor in the first three months of 2004, but were down 20 percent from the seasonally stronger fourth quarter. Ericsson shares rose almost 5 percent to 21.80 kronor (¤2.38, US$3.11) in midday trading on the Stockholm exchange. Ericsson, the world's largest supplier of telecom equipment, reiterated its forecast for the mobile systems market in 2005, saying it expects slight growth. "Our focus on profitable growth through intensified customer partnerships and operational excellence is successful and is giving us a distinct competitive advantage," said Chief Executive Carl-Henric Svanberg. "The increase in mobile infrastructure market share of two to three percentage points last year proves the strength of our strategy." --more 1342 Local Time 1042 GMT
