Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson on Tuesday said it would write down 14.2 billion kronor (1.4 billion euros, $1.8bn) in assets as the troubled company struggles to compete in a rapidly changing sector. The company wants to sell the two units to focus on its core business, which is network infrastructure. In addition to the writedowns, Ericsson also announced a 1.0 billion kronor non-cash tax charge due to US tax rates being cut from 35 percent to 21 percent this month. Once a global leader in equipment making, Ericsson is facing intense competition from the likes of Finland’s Nokia and China’s Huawei, coupled with sagging investment in networks. In the third quarter, Ericsson posted a net loss of 4.4 billion kronor and registered its fourth straight operating loss, after being hit by a range of factors including higher development and hardware costs.

Source: Punch January 16, 2018 10:59 UTC