Record pace of 5G rollouts in India helps Ericsson offset decline in North America, other markets

A record pace of fifth-generation or 5G network rollouts in India has helped Ericsson partly offset the softening in other markets, specifically North America, the Swedish telecom gear maker said in its Q2 2023 earnings report released Friday. It claimed to have a “leading market share” in the country where it saw strong execution with record build-out speed in India.

“Sales growth in India partly offset the expected softening we saw in other markets, notably in North America, where build-out pace moderated and customer inventory levels were reduced,” Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm said.

The vendor has bagged 5G equipment contracts from India’s top two telecom operators, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. Both the telcos aim to complete pan-India 5G coverage within a year.

ET reported recently that Jio is in advanced discussion with global banks to raise up to $1-1.5 billion (Rs 8,200-12,330 crore) through an offshore syndicated loan to buy 5G equipment from Ericsson.

Ericsson said that its sales in the Networks segment doubled in South East Asia, Oceania and India while it declined in the other market areas, especially in North America where customers have lowered their capex spend and reduced inventory levels following high investment levels in 2021 and 2022.

The Networks segment accounted for 66% (74%) of the company’s overall sales, as per the earnings report.

In South East Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson’s sales on an adjusted basis increased by 71% year-over-year primarily driven by 5G market share gains in India. The reported sales increased by 74% year-over-year.

The Swedish vendor in the report red-flagged that due to the current tensions between the US and China, as well as cross-strait strains, the risk to the supply of materials, components, and production timelines “has increased”, which may affect the company’s large projects, such as 5G rollout in India.

“There is a risk that the Company will be unable to obtain key supplies it needs to produce Ericsson’s products and provide Ericsson’s services on commercially reasonable terms, in time, or at all. This is particularly critical in connection with large projects like the current 5G rollout in India,” Ericsson said.

Ericsson’s acquisition of a timely and adequate supply of materials, components, production capacity and other vital services on competitive terms occasionally depends on single-source suppliers, or in the case of the development and supply of for example key ASIC and FPGA components, printed circuit boards, standard electronics or semiconductors (including foundry node availability) from very few suppliers, as per the report.

“Some of these suppliers have in addition very limited geographical redundancy, making them vulnerable to natural disasters, conflicts or other potentially disruptive events,” Ericsson said.