Telenor Group ends quarter with 211M subscribers
Norwegian telecommunications group Telenor ended the first quarter of 2016 with 211 million subscribers in the 12 European and Asian markets in which it operates. During the second quarter of the year, the operator added a total of 3.4 million subscribers.
In Norway, the number of mobile subscriptions decreased by 24,000 during the quarter, mainly from a reduction in the number of data cards and prepaid subscriptions sold. At the end of Q2, the subscription base was 3% lower than last year.
Telenor Group’s six Asian operations generated more than 50% of the group’s total revenue in the period, with Norway and the rest of Europe at about 20% each. In Asia, the European telecom firm operates in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar. In Europe, Telenor has mobile telephony operations in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Serbia.
The Nordic carrier generated revenue of 32.47 billion Norwegian krone ($3.8 billion) in the Q2, up 4% compared to the year-ago quarter.
Telenor’s net income for the period amounted to 1.8 billion Norwegian krone, compared to a net profit of 4.3 billion krone in Q2 2015.
“We have taken several initiatives to further strengthen our data position across our footprint, and we see encouraging signs of data monetization in several of our markets. Digitizing our core business, combined with efficiency measures, will be key to drive value creation going forward,” Sigve Brekke, Telenor’s president and CEO, said.
Telenor’s capital expenditures, excluding licenses and spectrum, totaled 16.2 billion Norwegian krone in Q2, down from 21.4 billion krone in the year-ago period.
In Norway, capital expenditures totaled 1.18 billion krone in the second quarter, up from 1.04 billion krone in the same period in 2015. Capex in Norway was driven by a roll-out of fixed high-speed broadband connections and expansion of the 4G network.
Telenor also confirmed that for full 2016, capex, excluding licenses and spectrum, will represent approximately 17% of its overall revenue.
The operator has 4G LTE operations in all of its European units, and in Asia offers 4G LTE services in Malaysia and Thailand.
In related news, Telenor confirmed it will not participate in India’s upcoming spectrum auction as the proposed spectrum prices do not give an acceptable level of return.
“We will continue our efforts to meet customer demands and grow the business based on the current spectrum holding. As we evaluate our options in India, we will be disciplined on capex,” Telenor said in its earnings statement.
Telenor currently operates in six of India’s 22 telecom circles through spectrum in the 1800MHz band.
