In an earnings statement, the Telenor said revenue grew to NOK27.7 billion ($3.2 billion) from NOK27.2 billion in Q1 2018, driven by growth in Norway, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Strong performance in the countries offset continued weaknesses in other parts of Asia and areas of its Scandinavian operations.
Net income dropped to NOK3.9 billion, from NOK5 billion: Telenor said the decline was due to a decrease in net financial items driven by net currency gains.
Telenor was keen to talk up a rise in subscriptions during the period, which surpassed a total of 176 million following 2.3 million mobile additions.
The company grew its customer base in all emerging Asia markets. In Myanmar it added 1.2 million new subscriptions, the first net additions since Q2 2018.
In Bangladesh and Pakistan, it added 1.3 million and 0.7 million subscribers respectively, offset by losses of 0.5 million in Thailand and 0.4 million in Malaysia.
Overall, its share of active data users increased by 55 per cent and it said it was improving its network position in Thailand to deliver data services to customers going forward.
Sigve Brekke, president and CEO of Telenor (pictured) said the operational and financial performance in Q1 “was in line with our expectations”.
“Over the past two years we have step-by-step executed our ambitions of modernisation and value creation through digital transformation, which has resulted in a simple and more efficient Telenor,” he said.
Brekke added the company’s entrance into the Finnish market, with a €1.5 billion deal for a 54 per cent stake in operator DNA, further strengthened its position in the Nordic region.
In recent times, the company has been pursuing a strategy of selling non-core assets to place additional focus on the Nordics and emerging Asia.