Ekholm Believes that Pandemics Will Not Derail Ericsson's Strategy

Ekholm Believes that Pandemics Will Not Derail Ericsson's Strategy
Ericsson

At the annual general meeting, Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm told shareholders that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic would not derail its strategy. He has announced that the company will continue the focus on research and developement.

In a pre-recorded speech to shareholders, Ekholm said there is yet to be a material business impact from COVID-19. He emphasised Ericsson was in a solid cash position offering strong resilience against a downturn and enabling continued investment. “So far we’ve seen no business disruption. But as several world economies experience an incredibly tough time we assume and plan for the fact that we will be affected and may need to take necessary measures. “We think we are well positioned to keep delivering on our strategy despite the challenges that the coronavirus presents,“ Ekholm said.

Alongside operational cuts, a central strand of the company’s turnaround plan was to make large investments in R&D. Since 2017, when Ekholm took the helm, the percentage of its employees working in R&D increased from 17 to almost 25 percent. Ekholm said the company’s turnaround could now be considered complete, with growth in 2019 for the first time since 2013 despite a challenging market. During the speech he also updated on its progress in selling 5G technology. In Q1 2020, Ericsson added eight additional 5G contracts taking its tally to 86, of which 27 networks are now live.