Third quarter 2008: Stable performance in turbulent times
"We are delivering a quarter with strong EBITDA margin and a solid operating cash flow despite reduced growth in revenues. During the quarter our mobile operations added 6 million subscriptions, reaching a total of 159 million. We maintain our outlook for 2008," said President and CEO of Telenor, Jon Fredrik Baksaas.
Asia
"Our business environment is currently more turbulent, and we foresee a period with lower global growth. In Asia in particular, the revenue development continues to be affected by the macro economic development as well as strong competition. In Pakistan we are experiencing a challenging market with reduced consumer spending, increased competition as well as an increase in consumer sales tax. This has affected both revenues and margins negatively this quarter," Baksaas said.
CEE
"I am pleased that all of our Central Eastern European operations have maintained strong market positions and delivered a quarter with strong financial results. Kyivstar, especially, is seeing results from its strategy of prioritising high quality network and services," Baksaas said.
Nordic
"In Norway, our mobile operation continued the solid organic growth in retail revenues with a 5% increase for the first three quarters of 2008, and Broadcast delivered high revenues and a considerable increase in broadband subscriptions. In Sweden we have restructured the organisation to ensure operational efficiency in a competitive market," Baksaas said.
Key figures
The table below contains pro forma key figures (including Kyivstar) for the third quarter of 2008, compared to the previous year:
| (NOK in millions except earnings per share) | Q3 2008 | Q3 2007 | Year 2007 |
| Revenues | 27 620 | 26 551 | 105 021 |
| EBITDA before other income and expenses | 10 033 | 9 483 | 36 358 |
| EBITDA margin before other income and expenses (%) | 36.3 | 35.7 | 34.6 |
| Adjusted operating profit | 6 091 | 5 564 | 20 642 |
| Adjusted operating profit/Revenues (%) | 22.1 | 21.0 | 19.7 |
| Profit after taxes and non-controlling interests | 2 995 | 5 097 | 18 016 |
| Earnings per share from total operations, basic, in NOK | 1.80 | 3.03 | 10.72 |
| Capex | 4 001 | 5 275 | 22 079 |
| Investments in businesses | 223 | 628 | 6 041 |
| Net interest-bearing liabilities end of period | 31 396 | 37 557 | 36 464 |
For more information please refer to the quarterly report on www.telenor.com/ir/reports/08q3.
Number one on sustainability
"For the second year in a row Telenor has been ranked number one on sustainability in mobile telecommunications on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). Telenor was ranked as the industry leader among 17 mobile telecommunications companies on a range of economic, social and environmental criteria. We see this as a recognition of our continuous efforts to deliver sustainable business operations," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas.
Contact:
Scott Engebrigtsen, Head of Media & PR, Telenor ASA, Tel: +47 90043484, E-mail: scott.engebrigtsen@telenor.com