Ericsson's second-quarter revenue falls but North America helps

Ericsson saw a smaller-than-expected fall in second-quarter revenue helped by growth in North America, the Swedish telecom equipment maker reported on Friday.

Revenue fell 7% to 59.9 billion crowns ($5.69 billion) but topped the 58.3 billion expected by analysts in an LSEG poll.

Revenue rose by 14% in North America.

Ericsson and rival Nokia have had to slash thousands of jobs as customers buy less 5G telecom equipment.

"We expect market conditions to remain challenging this year, as the pace of India investments slow, however our sales will benefit during the second half from contract deliveries in North America," CEO Börje Ekholm said in a statement.

Ericsson is benefiting in North America after winning a major contract over rival Nokia to supply equipment to mobile operator AT&T

CFO Lars Sandström told Reuters that the second quarter was boosted by several customers.

The group's quarterly adjusted gross margin widened to 43.9% from 38.3% a year earlier as sales shift from low-margin India to the higher margin U.S. market.

It posted a loss in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 11.9 billion crowns versus a profit of 2.8 billion a year earlier reflecting an impairment it booked on its acquisition of Vonage.