Ericsson sales in India rise 20 pc in Oct-Dec

India emerged as the top growth market for Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson which today reported 20 per cent rise in revenue at 2,362 million Swedish Krona (about Rs 1,753 crore) from the country for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
Ericsson posted revenue of SEK 1,973 million (about Rs 1,463 crore at current exchange rate) in the same period a year ago.
"Sales increased YoY mainly due to higher operator spending driven by continued growth in mobile data traffic. Global Services sales showed a strong development mainly as a result of the first pan-India managed services contract," Ericsson said in its report.

Western and Central Europe posted 17 per cent growth, South East Asia and Oceania 16 per cent, Middle East 16 per cent, Northern Europe and Central Asia 11 per cent , North East Asia 7 per cent and Mediterranean posted 6 per cent growth in revenue.
Net global sales of the company increased by a per cent to SEK 68 billion during the reported quarter from SEK 67 billion a year ago.
Ericsson mentioned India as its third largest market with Japan and both the countries contributed 4 per cent to total sales of the company.

The US market accounted for 31 per cent of global sales, followed by China with 6 per cent sales of the company.

For year ended 2014, Ericsson's revenue jumped 25 per cent at SEK 7,702 million in India -- the highest growth rate among all markets.
"Full-year sales growth was driven by mobile broadband infrastructure investments. Increased smartphone penetration drove growth in mobile data usage," Ericsson said.
The company posted marginal increase in global net sales at SEK 228 billion for the year ended 2014 compared to net sales of SEK 227.4 billion at the end of 2013.
Ericsson reported 13.32 per cent in its workforce in India at 19,971 at the end of fourth quarter from 17,622 in same period of 2013.