Ericsson beat quarterly profit expectations on Friday as savings started to kick in, fueling hopes for a recovery at the struggling mobile equipment maker and sending its shares up 15 percent.

The Swedish company, which is restructuring and has replaced much of its top management, has struggled with falling spending on networks by telecoms operators and weak emerging markets demand.

Its first-quarter loss shrank to 0.3 billion crowns ($35.6 million) from a 11.3 billion loss a year earlier and beat a mean forecast for a 2.4 billion loss in a Reuters poll of analysts.

The company cut its workforce by more than 3,000 jobs during the quarter, part of reductions that have eliminated 18,000 jobs since last July, it said.

Ericsson said factors behind the improvement included cost reductions, a continued ramp-up of its 5G-ready radio system product platform and good progress in addressing poorly performing customer contracts in managed services.

"Our efforts to improve efficiency in service delivery and common costs are starting to pay off," Chief Executive Borje Ekholm said in a statement.