Ericsson beats Q1 result forecasts on 5G demand, growth in North America

Mobile telecom equipment maker Ericsson beat first-quarter result forecasts on Wednesday due mainly to strong growth in North America as the company raised its full-year outlook for the global networks market.

The Swedish company has shown steady improvement in profitability after slashing costs and seeing increasing demand for 5G equipment as it rebounds from falling spending on networks by telecoms operators in the middle of the decade.

The mobile telecom equipment maker said it now expects the Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment market to grow by 3 per cent this year, up from a previous forecast for 2 per cent growth.