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ERICSSON

Stockholm bourse falls on US consumer stats

The Stockholm stock exchange ended a largely positive week on a sour note on Friday as the OMXS index closed down 1.1 percent on reports of weaker consumer demand in the USA.

Published: 16 February 2008 11:09 CET

The day’s trading began with small gains in line with the other European bourses. H & M, Telia Sonera, Scania and Sandvik were among the larger companies that opened positively.

Trelleborg and Husqvarna were among the many firms presenting reports in the morning. Rubber conglomerate Trelleborg reported a pre-tax profit of 220 million kronor ($34.4 million) for the final quarter 2007. White goods firm Husqvarna reported a profit after financial items of 94 million kronor for the period.

The stock market weakened towards lunchtime and fell as new statistics came through from the USA which indicated further signs of a pending recession. The Michigan Index of consumer confidence fell in February to its lowest level since 1992.

The OMXS index had dipped 1.1 percent to 308.6 points by close of business and has now fallen over 12 percent this year. Dagens Industri reported that the day’s trading was characterised by profit taking following gains in many stocks during the week.

Clothing retail giant H & M weighed down the bourse closing down 2.1 percent; automotive firm Volvo fell 3.7 percent and major bank Nordea fell 1.6 percent. Among the winners were steel concern Sandvik, up 0.3 percent and Swedbank, which closed up 0.6 percent. TV production company Zodiak Television led the field with a climb of 11.4 percent.

New York’s Dow Jones-index closed down 0.2 percent to 12,348.2 and the Nasdaq Composite-index fell 0.5 percent to 2,321.8. London’s FTSE-index fell 1.6 percent to 5,787.6 points, Frankfurt’s DAX-index dipped 1.9 percent to 6,832.4 and the Paris CAC-index fell 1.8 percent to 4,771.8.

SWEDEN AND UKRAINE

Ericsson suspends all Russia operations indefinitely

Swedish network equipment maker Ericsson said Monday that it was suspending all of its Russian operations over the war in Ukraine for the foreseeable future.

Published: 11 April 2022 19:42 CEST
Ericsson suspends all Russia operations indefinitely

The telecom giant already announced in late February that it would stop all deliveries to Russia following Moscow’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

“In the light of recent events and of European Union sanctions, the company will now suspend its affected business with customers in Russia indefinitely,” Ericsson said in a statement.

The company added that it was “engaging with customers and partners regarding the indefinite suspension of the affected business.”

“The priority is to focus on the safety and well-being of Ericsson employees in Russia and they will be placed on paid leave,” it said.

READ ALSO: How has Sweden responded to Putin’s war in Ukraine so far?

Hundreds of Western firms ranging from Ikea to Coca-Cola, Goldman Sachs and McDonald’s have stopped operations in the country since the invasion, with French banking group Societe Generale announcing Monday it was selling its stake in Russia’s Rosbank.

Ericsson has around 600 employees in Russia, and is a “major supplier to the largest operator MTS and the fourth largest operator Tele2,” a company spokeswoman told AFP, adding that together with Ukraine, Russia accounts for less than two percent of revenue.

As a result, the equipment maker said it would record a provision for 900 million Swedish kronor ($95 million, 87 million euros) for the first quarter of 2022 for “impairment of assets and other exceptional costs,” though no staff redundancy costs were included.
Ericsson is due to publish its first quarter earnings on April 14.

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