Ericsson will fold its North East Asia and South East Asia, Oceania and India market areas into a single Market Area Asia-Pacific from 2027, cutting the number of its regional units as new CEO Per Narvinger pushes a broader simplification of the vendor's operating structure.

The move lands alongside third-quarter results that show why efficiency dominates the agenda. Reported sales rose 6% year over year to SEK59.5 billion (US$6 billion), with organic growth of 7%, driven primarily by higher Networks sales and growth in three of the vendor's four market areas. Adjusted EBITA fell to SEK10.1 billion from SEK15.8 billion a year earlier, though the prior-year figure included a SEK7.6 billion capital gain. Adjusted EBITA margin came in at 17.0%, against 28.1% a year ago.

Ericsson did not link the APAC consolidation to regional financial performance. Its stated rationale centres on operating more effectively across the region.

Who runs the new unit?

Patrick Johansson, currently head of Market Area Europe, Middle East and Africa, will lead the merged APAC unit and keep his seat on the Executive Team. Ericsson has begun recruiting his successor for EMEA. Chafic Nassif, head of North East Asia, and Andres Vicente, head of South East Asia, Oceania and India, will support the transition and hand over their responsibilities on 31 December 2026 — giving the vendor roughly a year of dual-running before the new unit formally takes shape.

Narvinger said the consolidation is intended to help Ericsson operate more effectively across Asia-Pacific while maintaining focus on customers and individual countries. For operators in the region, the practical change is a single management chain from 2027, with country teams retaining local accountability under a wider span of control.

What does the reshuffle change beyond APAC?

The APAC merger is one element of a wider organisational shuffle:

• Neutral Host and Ericsson Private 5G move into Business Area Networks.
• Wireless WAN becomes a standalone business reporting to the head of Market Area Americas.
• The portfolio of Business Area Enterprise Wireless Solutions is distributed across other parts of the company.

Ericsson said the Enterprise Wireless redistribution will create R&D synergies and give product innovation more scale. Practitioners should read this as enterprise wireless losing standalone business-area status, with its products absorbed by units closer to core networks operations.

Cost pressure frames the timing

Narvinger described the quarter as strong, but flagged a flat radio access network market, elevated geopolitical uncertainty and higher component costs as challenges ahead. Ericsson said it is pursuing portfolio optimisation, pricing action and efficiency measures to offset cost pressures and strengthen competitiveness.

The EBITA comparison illustrates the squeeze. Strip out the SEK7.6 billion capital gain from the year-earlier quarter and the underlying result held roughly flat at around SEK10 billion on sales 6% higher — meaning margins compressed even before component cost inflation fully lands. That context, not a stated regional shortfall, frames a restructuring aimed at tighter management and faster execution.

Taken together, the announcements signal a drive to consolidate management layers and bring related activities closer as the vendor seeks better execution under market pressure. Johansson's successor in EMEA, and how the 2026 handover proceeds, will be the first indicators of whether the simplified structure delivers.