Shares in Swedish telecoms firm Ericsson shot up by five per cent in early trades yesterday after it posted better-than-expected third quarter earnings, turning its first net profit in more than two years, reports AFP from Stockholm.

By noon (1000 GMT), the share price was still up by 4.72 per cent on the Stockholm stock exchange in an overall market trading 0.6 per cent higher.

Ericsson's net profit soared to 2.7 billion kronor ($301 million, 261 million euros) during the period July-September, compared to a net loss of 3.6 billion a year ago. Analysts had expected a loss of 167 million kronor.

"We see improvements across our businesses," chief executive Borje Ekholm said in the report.

Once a market leader in the mobile phone industry, Ericsson saw its earnings slump year after year following the meteoric rise of smartphone giants in the United States and Asia.

But it has fought on against the odds, adapting to the rapidly shifting market by focusing its attention on research and development of new technologies for telecoms equipment.