UPDATE 1 — Ericsson braces for component cost hit after third — quarter profit beat

(Adds detail on results, outlook, background in bullet points) STOCKHOLM, Oct 15 (Reuters) — Telecom gear maker Ericsson on Thursday reported a smaller-than-expected drop in third-quarter core profit as efficiency measures helped offset higher component costs, but warned that such costs would affect margins next year. Operating profit before amortisation and restructuring costs was 10.1 billion crowns ($1.01 billion) against a year-earlier 15.8 billion and a mean forecast of 7.87 billion in a poll of analysts provided by Ericsson The Swedish group said component costs rose in the quarter "Looking ahead, the RAN (Radio Access Network) market is flat, geopolitical uncertainty remains elevated and component costs are a headwind to gross margin," new CEO Per Narvinger said in a statement Ericsson in July warned it was under pressure from rising memory chip costs due to surging AI demand Adjusted EBITA margin narrowed to 17.0% from 28.1% against a forecast 14.2% Organic sales rose 7% to 59.5 billion crowns, beating a forecast 55.4 billion and Ericsson said sales in North America increased slightly supported by project phasing (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik) ((ann