Slowing demand for new mobile networks in China pushed third- quarter sales and profit for Sweden's Ericsson below forecasts and reinforced concerns that another major growth market had passed its peak.
Like-for-like sales at Ericsson, the world's biggest maker of mobile telecoms network equipment, dropped 9 percent in the third quarter, with declines in China and Europe.
Ericsson and industry rivals are in the middle of a decade-long investment cycle but initial build-outs of the latest high-speed 4G equipment are slowing in major markets such as China, Europe and the US.
Ericsson Chief Executive Hans Vestberg said the slowdown in China was not tied to the broader economic situation and that it was normal for the pace of network spending to fluctuate between quarters.
"I cannot speculate when it will come back, but long-term, medium-term, I think 4G will continue to grow in China," he told reporters on a conference call.
Reorganizations at Chinese operators may have contributed to lower spending, he noted.
"The Chinese market that has been a significant contributor to systems sales for several quarters dropped 20 percent year over year and 1 percent from the second quarter," said Bengt Nordstrom, head of telecoms consultancy Northstream.
Late last year, Ericsson cut its growth forecasts for the network equipment market in coming years and financial analysts question where the company will find fresh impetus in 2016.
