In the second quarter of 2010, Telenor Group reported revenues of NOK 25.2 billion, representing an organic revenue growth of 5 per cent. The EBITDA margin in the second quarter of 2010 was 28 per cent, and operating cash flow margin was 16 per cent. Adjusted operating profit was NOK 2.9 billion. Telenor’s mobile operations added 5.4 million subscriptions during the quarter.
“I am pleased to see that the positive trends continued into the second quarter with increasing organic revenue growth and solid margins. During the quarter our consolidated operations added 5.4 million mobile subscriptions and in Asia we had organic revenue growth of 13 per cent,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor.
Growth in Asia
“The economic environment in Asia continued to improve, fuelling the revenue growth in our operations. Increased usage of smartphones is an additional driver for growth in Thailand and Malaysia. In June, we launched services in five additional circles in India, increasing our footprint to 13 circles. We are continuously working to increase revenues and develop Uninor’s position in the market,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas.
Increased mobile data usage
“In the Nordic region, high demand for mobile data is contributing to the solid growth in organic mobile revenues. The mobile network upgrades are on track, with pick-up in investments in the coming quarters. In addition, the work on further cost reductions will continue,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas.
Share buy-back programme
“In order to improve Telenor’s shareholder remuneration, we have decided to initiate a share buy-back programme for approximately 3 per cent of the outstanding shares, following the announcement of the second quarter. Going forward our ambition is to ensure a healthy balance between competitive shareholder remuneration and the Group’s growth profile,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas.
Outlook
“Based on the positive trends in Asia and the Nordics, we expect organic revenue growth to be slightly higher than indicated in our previous outlook. In addition, we revise our expected capex to sales ratio downwards, following lower overall investments so far this year,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas.
Interim Report January–June 2010
Pakistan
The net cash outfl ow from investing activities in the fi rst half of 2010 was NOK 8.6 billion, of which NOK 7.1 billion was related to intangible assets and
property, plant and equipment. Paid capex was higher than reported capex, related to the network roll-out in Uninor as well as high capex payables in
Pakistan at year-end 2009. The acquisition of C More Group AB amounted to gross cash outfl ow of NOK 1.1 billion.
Telenor Pakistan has announced solid results for the second quarter of 2010. Pakistan’s second largest cellular company added 519,000 subscribers in the previous quarter, a rise of 14% over the same period last year with subscriber numbers reaching 23.80 million at the end of Q2 2010. EBITDA margins also continued to rise, up 34% over the previous quarter and 75% year-on-year. ARPU remained positive both year-on-year and over the previous quarter.
Changes in revenues and EBITDA
Pakistan has:-
- 519k net subscriber growth.
- Stable ARPU.
- 16% organic increase in mobile revenues from subscriber growth.
- Financial services starting to contribute to revenue growth.
- Margin jump driven by higher revenue, decommissioning of leased lines and reduction in SIM tax Q309.
In the previous quarter, Telenor Pakistan also did well on other fronts. It became one of the few mobile operators in the world and the first in Pakistan to receive a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Mobile Money for the Unbanked Fund. It launched the industry-first, state-of-the-art, Sahulat Ghar to help bring mobile services to more people across the country. And it provided free telecommunication services to Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation in Hunza to assist in emergency communications regarding the situation in Attabad and surrounding areas.
Key Figures : Report January–June 2010
The table below contains key figures for the second quarter of 2010, compared to the previous year:
| (NOK in millions except earnings per share) | Q2 2010 | Q2 2009 | Year 2009 |
| Revenues | 25 177 | 24 509 | 97 650 |
| EBITDA before other income and expenses | 7 025 | 7 896 | 31 122 |
| EBITDA margin before other income and expenses (%) | 27.9 | 32.2 | 31.9 |
| Adjusted operating profit | 2 889 | 4 005 | 15 805 |
| Adjusted operating profit/Revenues (%) | 11.5 | 16.3 | 16.2 |
| Profit after taxes and non-controlling interests 1 | 9 494 | 1 375 | 8 653 |
| Earnings per share from total operations, basic, in NOK | 5.73 | 0.83 | 5.22 |
| Capex | 3 311 | 3 008 | 16 107 |
| Capex excl. licences and spectrum | 2 978 | 3 008 | 16 107 |
| Capex excl. licences and spectrum/Revenues (%) | 11.8 | 12.3 | 16.5 |
| Operating cash flow 2 | 4 047 | 4 888 | 15 015 |
| Net interest-bearing liabilities | 26 332 |
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