Highest growth rates recorded in India and Malaysia
Norway-based telecom group Telenor reported that its Asian operations accounted for 52.4% of the company’s overall revenue in the second quarter of the year, up compared to 46.2% in the year-ago period.
For Q2 2015, Telenor generated revenue of 30.17 billion kroner ($3.70 billion), up from 25.65 billion kroner ($4.44 billion) in the same quarter the previous year.
“In Thailand, competition remained intense in the second quarter. Dtac is going through a comprehensive turnaround process, which on the network side has already resulted in a significantly improved network position on both 3G and 4G,” Telenor’s CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas said. In terms of revenue, the Thailand figure grew 26.9% year-on-year in Q2 2015.
In Thailand, Dtac had 26.9 million subscribers at the end of June, down compared to 28.04 million subscribers at the end of Q2 2014.
“In Myanmar, performance continues to exceed our expectations. In July we passed 10 million subscribers. Customers’ strong demand for voice and data services keeps driving revenue and profitability. During the quarter we further expanded the network, reaching 213 of a total of 330 townships at the end of June,” the executive said.
In Malaysia, where the firms operate under the Digi brand, Telenor’s revenue expanded by 13% year-on-year in Q2. At the end of the quarter, 3G and “4G” network population coverage was 87% and 40%, respectively. Digi ended Q2 with a total of 11.81 million subscribers, up compared to 10.90 million at the end of Q2 2014.
Meanwhile, in India, Telenor reached a total of 39.85 million subscribers, after a net addition of 1.3 million subscribers during the second quarter. Telenor said that capital expenditures in its local operation during the quarter was mainly related to capacity expansion to cater to the increased traffic volumes.
In Pakistan and Bangladesh, Telenor ended Q2 2015 with 31.59 million and 53.2 million subscribers, respectively. In Pakistan, the number of subscriptions decreased by 5 million during the quarter following the disconnection of unverified SIM cards. In Bangladesh, where Telenor operates under the Grameenphone brand, the company recorded a net addition of 1.1 million subscribers during the second quarter.
