UPDATE 1 – Croatia's Ericsson Nikola Tesla 9-Mo Net Profit Up 0.8% - Table

"Ericsson Nikola Tesla's key performance indicators for the first nine months meet our expectations. We have an increase in sales revenues and operating profit," Gordana Kovacevic, president of Ericsson Nikola Tesla, said in a statement sent to the Zagreb Stock Exchange.

Sales revenue through September rose by 3.0% compared to the same period last year to 1.308 million kuna due to a considerable sales growth in regional markets, good performance in the domestic market and Ericsson's knowledge sales, the statement said. Orders booked increased by 1.0%.

In the regional markets, the sales revenue rose by 32.2% reaching 334.6 million kuna, nearly half of it achieved in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the Commonwealth of Independent States, the sales revenue was 249.1 million kuna, down 25.2% on the year.

"Operating profit is up 36% primarily due to increased gross margin (from 16.3% to 17.8%), totaling 122.7 million kuna," the company added.

Ericsson Nikola Tesla said that its liquidity was very good and the cashflow from operating activities was positive, totaling 298.4 million kuna.

Details follow:

The company's shares traded at 1,309.99 kuna in Zagreb by 1030 GMT on Tuesday, up from Monday's close of 1,233.08 kuna.

Swedish telecoms equipment giant Ericsson owns 49.07% of the Croatian company.

(1 euro= 7.2042 Croatian kuna)