Telenor third quarter 2009 results: A solid quarter

Telenor's mobile operations added 4 million subscriptions during the quarter, reaching a total of 172 million.

"In the third quarter of 2009 we delivered a solid EBITDA margin, and revenue trends in line with the previous quarters this year. The strong EBITDA, combined with continued capex control resulted in a high operating cash flow," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor.

Telenor's regions

"The Nordic operations are on track to deliver on the NOK 10 billion cash flow target.

In Asia, Telenor Pakistan shows good progress towards reaching cash flow break even in 2010, while Grameenphone continued to deliver very strong results. In October, the subscription period related to Grameenphone's initial public offering (IPO) was initiated. There has been high interest related to the IPO, and trading of the share is anticipated to start in November 2009. 

Our operations in Central and Eastern Europe continued to be affected by the economic downturn, however the margins and operating cash flow remained strong. During the quarter, 2008 dividends for Kyivstar were declared and will be paid within year-end 2009," Baksaas said.

Creating a leading emerging markets mobile operator

"On 4 October Telenor and Altimo entered into an agreement to create a new leading emerging markets mobile operator, VimpelCom Ltd, by combining the parties' assets in Kyivstar and OJSC VimpelCom. The new company will be headquartered in the Netherlands and we expect to complete the related transactions by mid-2010," Baksaas continued.

On track with Uninor in India

"In India the activity level is high and we are on track to launch services in the fourth quarter of 2009. During the quarter the Uninor name was announced and additional key agreements related to tower sharing, GSM equipment and national roaming were signed. On 19 October 2009, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board's recommendation to approve Telenor's shareholding in Unitech Wireless of 67.25% was approved," Baksaas said.

Cost control and improved efficiency

"We continue to scale our activities to be aligned with the current business environment. We expect that our focus on cost control and improved efficiency will enable us to deliver a slightly stronger EBITDA margin and lower investments than originally anticipated for 2009," Baksaas said.