Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson on Friday reported a drop in first-quarter sales and net income due in part to "cautious" investments by operators in some markets, according to dpa. Net income - after losses and restructuring charges - declined 30 per cent to 1.3 billion kronor (179 million dollars), the group said. Net sales fell 9 per cent to 45.1 billion kronor. Operating income, excluding restructuring charges, was 4.1 billion kronor in the quarter, up 23 per cent year-on-year but down 38 per cent compared with the final quarter of 2009. "The market conditions we saw in the second half of 2009 prevailed also in this quarter with mixed operator investment behaviour," chief executive Hans Vestberg said. Vestberg noted that "operators in a number of developing markets were still cautious with their investments." Ericsson for instance saw a 33 per cent decline in sales in India and China compared to the final quarter of 2009, in turn having an impact on the company's mainstay Networks division. Another factor that impacted sales was "tight industry component supply," Vestberg said. A cost saving plan was due to be completed in the second quarter this year, and expected to save some 15 to 16 billion kronor by the second half of 2010. Restructuring costs in the first-quarter, not including joint ventures like mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson, totalled 2.2 billion kronor.
