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Fornebu (pte048/27.04.2005/16:30) - Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor http://www.telenor.com has announced a 7.2 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2005. As the company reports in a press release on its website, the revenue totalled 15.3 billion Norwegian Krone (1.88 billion euros). Profit before taxes and minority interests was 2.8 billion Norwegian Krone (345 million euros), compared to 5 billion Norwegian Krone (620 million euros) in the first quarter of 2004. According to the company, the main reason for the reduction in profits in comparison to the first quarter of 2004 is mainly due to a gain of 2.6 billion Norwegian Krone (320 million euros) from the sale of Cosmote, posted in the first quarter of 2004. EBITDA in the first quarter of this year was 5.1 billion Norwegian Krone (628 million euros), an increase of 58 million Norwegian Krone (7.14 million euros) compared to the first quarter a year earlier.
"We are still seeing strong growth in our mobile operations, which currently generate 53 per cent of Telenor's total revenues," said the company's CEO, Jon Fredrik Baksaas. "Key points from Telenor's first quarter include strong customer growth in the international mobile operations, a successful launch in Pakistan, an EBITDA margin of more than 20 per cent at Sonofon and increased pressure on revenues from Fixed," he added.
The number of mobile subscriptions in consolidated operations increased by 2.4 million in the first quarter of 2005, reaching a total of 21.4 million. Furthermore, the number of subscriptions where Telenor has ownership interests increased by 7.4 million in the first quarter, reaching a total of 60.1 million. Internationally, subscription growth continued to be strong, particularly in Kyivstar in Ukraine and GrameenPhone in Bangladesh, which gained 1.4 million and 540,000 new subscriptions respectively. The company's commercial services in Pakistan, which it launched on March 15, had gained 344,000 subscriptions and an estimated market share of 4 per cent by the end of the first quarter, Telenor said.
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