Ericsson reports Q2 profit leap

Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson announced on Friday a leap in its second-quarter profits beating analyst expectations.
Net profit between April and June rose to 2.579 billion kronor (279 million euros, $378 million), almost doubling the 1.469 billion kronor the group reported a year ago.
Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had predicted a 2.23-billion-kronor profit. Revenue remained almost stable at 54.849 billion kronor, also beating the analysts' expectations of 52.06 billion kronor.
Sales were much stronger than a year ago in India, where they grew 29 percent and the Middle East, up 13 percent, but fell by 29 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa and were down by 11 percent in the Mediterranean area.
Compared to last quarter, sales were up in all regions except India.
"Sales in the quarter year-over-year were driven by growth in the Middle East, China and India, as well as continued capacity business in North America," chief executive hans Vestberg said in a statement.
"Political unrest prevails in parts of the Middle East and Africa and is still impacting sales."
The conflict in Ukraine, however, did not have a negative impact on sales in the region, the group said.