Ericsson boosts infrastructure market share to 36%

Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson said on Wednesday its share of the global mobile infrastructure market has surged from 32 percent in May to 36 percent today.

In a statement issued ahead of its capital market day in Stockholm Wednesday, Ericsson said it in fact was now "100 percent larger than player number two" in the global mobile infrastructure market.

Ericsson president and chief executive Hans Vestberg was meanwhile set to reiterate the company's cautious outlook on short-term operator spending due to "economic uncertainties in parts of the world."

The company, which late last month said it was selling its 50-percent stake in mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson along with all related patents and licences to Sony, said Wednesday patents and licencing would now "become a key revenue area with growth opportunities."

Last year, Ericsson, which said it counts some 27,000 granted patents, raked in a net profit of 4.6 billion kronor ($693.6 million, 507.1 million euors) on intellectual property rights.

The Swedish company also said it today holds 11 percent of the global telecom services market, making it the world leader in the field where it was 40 percent larger than its closest competitor.

Ericsson's market day announcements did not impress investors, with the company's share price shedding 3.36 percent in later morning trading on a Stockholm stock exchange down 2.30 percent.

(c) 2011 AFP