"If I understand Ericsson's management right, it is unchanged," Ericsson chairman Mr Michael Treschow told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference on whether Sweden should adopt the euro in the September 14th referendum.

Loss-making Ericsson, the world's biggest producer of mobile networks, will report its second-quarter results on July 18th and analysts expect another pre-tax loss as the company struggles to cut costs faster than sales fall.

The company said at the end of April that it expected the market for mobile networks to shrink more than 10 per cent this year in dollar terms or 15-17 percent in euro terms, similar to competitors Nokia and Motorola.

To adjust to the declining market, Ericsson announced in April a new round of job cuts, which will lower its workforce in 2004 to 47,000 people from its current level of 61,000.

Mr Treschow said the restructuring, which is to bring the company back to profit some time this year, was on schedule.

Asked if Ericsson would benefit if Sweden joined the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), Mr Treschow said: "EMU membership would be good for Sweden and, therefore, good for Ericsson."

He said the strong financial performance of rival Nokia, the world's biggest producer of mobile phones, could be in part thanks to Finland's membership of the EMU.

"Generally, companies within the euro zone have had better development in their trade and it is reasonable to assume that so has Nokia," Mr Treschow said.