The headline figures in Ericsson’s fourth quarter 2022 results statement distracted from the key underlying trends, which continued to be challenging. This was because the quarter’s performance was impacted by two one-off events. The first was positive – following a settlement of Ericsson’s patent licensing disputes with Apple during the quarter, the new licensing deal was backdated and retrospective revenues boosted overall revenue from IPR to SEK6bn ($580m). The second was negative – Ericsson has set aside $220m for a potential settlement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ), related to bribery allegations. Early last year, there were allegations that the Swedish firm had made payments to the Isis terror organization to gain access to certain transport routes in Iraq.…