Third quarter 2008: Stable performance in turbulent times
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
To the editorial offices:
Press and analyst conference
In connection with the publication of the financial results, a press and analyst conference will be held on Wednesday 29 October at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium A, Telenor Expo Visitors' Centre, at the Telenor Headquarters at Fornebu outside Oslo. President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Trond Westlie will present the results. All presentations will be given in English.
Internet and mobile broadcast
The press and analyst conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will be made available on www.telenor.com/ir/reports/08q3 . During the live transmission, written questions may be submitted via the Internet. The conference will also be available live, and in a recorded version, on mobile phones with 3G, GPRS or EDGE. For more details please refer to www.telenor.com/ir/reports/08q3 .
Conference call and Q&A
The press and analyst conference will also be available as a conference call. This service also allows participants to ask questions at a concluding Q&A session, which will be held immediately after the presentation and a brief Q&A session in the auditorium. Please register well in advance on (+47) 800 80 119 (from Norway) or (+47) 23 00 04 00 (from Norway or abroad).
Materials
English language versions of the full quarterly report and all presentations used during the press and analyst conference will be made available on www.telenor.com/ir/reports/08q3 at 07:00 and 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET, respectively.