Ericsson's Finnish subcontractor warns on 2017 profits

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish network technology maker Bittium warned on Wednesday its profits could take a hit next year due to lost business with a major customer.

Analysts said this referred to Sweden's Ericsson, which on Tuesday announced a plan to cut about a fifth of its Swedish workforce and hundreds of consultants as demand for its network equipment shrinks and competition intensifies..

Bittium said the "global network equipment manufacturer's" actions could have a negative effect on its sales and operating result next year.

"We think it is clear that this is due to Ericsson ... The impact on Bittium's outlook for 2017 can be significant," market analysis firm Inderes said in a note to investors. It cut its recommendation on Bittium to "sell" from "increase."

Bittium shares dropped 8.3 percent to 6.11 euros by 0725 GMT.

(Reporting by Tuomas Forsell, editing by Jussi Rosendahl and Jane Merriman)