-
Continued progress on Networked Society strategy
with focus on market development, growth agenda, transformation and
profitability
-
Driving ICT transformation with focus on
5G
-
Strong commitment to sustainability and
corporate responsibility with continuous and measurable
improvements in all areas
At the Annual General Meeting of shareholders,
Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) president and CEO Hans Vestberg reviewed the
company's stable financial performance for 2014 and discussed its
Networked Society strategy. Vestberg talked about the change in the
business mix, with 66 percent of the company's sales for 2014
coming from services and software - and what requirements are being
placed on today's networks in order to capture all the needs from
its users.
"Our customers need to innovate in order to grow
their revenues; they need to transform their IT systems in order to
capture efficiency gains and enhance the user experience; and they
need to evolve their networks in order to meet current and coming
requirements and the introduction of new services and
applications.
"In this transforming industry we need to stay
ahead of the curve and lead the change in order to capture the
opportunities that this brings for us as an ICT partner", said Hans
Vestberg
Vestberg talked about Ericsson's strategic
direction in which the company is set to excel in its core
business, where it has market leader ship in mobile infrastructure
and telecom services, and to build a leading position within target
areas. The targeted areas in which the company is investing - IP
networks, cloud, OSS/BSS, TV & Media, and Industry &
Society - showed good progress during 2014 with sales growth above
10%.
FOCUS ON 5G
Ericsson's Chief Marketing and Communications
Officer, Helena Norrman, and the Chief Technology Officer, Ulf
Ewaldsson, both joined Vestberg on stage to address the company's
industry leading product portfolio and the strong initiatives
within 5G.
Norrman said: "We have strengthened our offering
in order to pave the way for the company's strategic direction, as
announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March. We
are taking the lead towards 5G with the new Ericsson Radio System -
providing increased capacity and substantially lower energy
consumption - and our new networks software release that provides
additional functionality and capacity and paves the way towards
more cloud-based functionality in the networks."
Ewaldsson said: "Our success over the years is
very much dependent on our technology leadership and last year
alone, we spent SEK 36 billion on research and development. We are
passionate about developing today's network and services to new
levels to realize the Networked Society."
Ewaldsson then presented the company's 'Inventors
of the year' awards, recognizing employees who have substantially
contributed to the company's leading patent portfolio which today
includes 37,000 patents. The 2014 winners were Panagiotis
Saltsidis, Business Unit Cloud & IP, Daniel Larsson, Ericsson
Research, and Gunnar Mildh, Ericsson Research. The trio contributed
with 277 patent applications in 2014.
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Ericsson published its 22nd
Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report, summarizing its
2014 performance in the following areas: Responsible Business;
Energy, Environment and Climate; and Communication for All.
During 2014, Ericsson further strengthened its
approach to human rights and business, broadened its focus on
occupational health and safety to be more inclusive of supply chain
activities, and enhanced portfolio and operational efforts to
reduce environmental impacts associated with energy
consumption.
Elaine Weidman-Grunewald, Vice President,
Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Ericsson, said: "Our
ambition to be a responsible and relevant driver of positive change
in the Networked Society starts with conducting business
responsibly. Each year brings new challenges and opportunities, but
sustainability and corporate responsibility have become an integral
part of our mindset and identity, and the impact we want to have on
the world."
CONDLUDING REMARKS
Vestberg concluded his presentation with the
following remarks:
"We aim to continue to grow faster than the
market, improve operating income by monetizing our footprint,
building successes in targeted growth areas and by efficiency
improvements. The long-term fundamentals in the industry remain
attractive and the transformation journey that accelerated during
2014 will continue throughout 2015 and beyond. Going forward, I'm
convinced Ericsson has what it takes to generate sustainable value
for shareholders and customers and continue to lead and shape the
industry."
NOTES TO EDITORS
Download high-resolution photos and
broadcast-quality video at www.ericsson.com/press
Ericsson is the driving force
behind the Networked Society - a world leader in communications
technology and services. Our long-term relationships with every
major telecom operator in the world allow people, business and
society to fulfill their potential and create a more sustainable
future.
Our services, software and
infrastructure - especially in mobility, broadband and the
cloud - are enabling the telecom industry and
other sectors to do better business, increase efficiency, improve
the user experience and capture new opportunities.
With approximately 115,000
professionals and customers in 180 countries, we combine global scale with technology and services
leadership. We support networks that connect more than 2.5 billion
subscribers. Forty percent of the world's mobile traffic is carried
over Ericsson networks. And our investments in research and
development ensure that our solutions - and our customers - stay in
front.
Founded in 1876, Ericsson has its
headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Net sales in 2014 were SEK 228.0
billion (USD 33.1 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX stock
exchange in Stockholm and the NASDAQ in New York.
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 CEO at AGM
This
announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on
behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: Ericsson via Globenewswire
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