FORNEBU, Norway, May 4, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- In the first quarter of 2006, Telenor's revenues increased by 43 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2005, reaching NOK 21.9 billion. The underlying revenue growth was 15 per cent. Profit before taxes was NOK 5.9 billion. During the quarter, the total number of mobile subscriptions increased by 7 million, reaching 90 million."I am pleased to present a very strong quarter, with significant growth in revenues and higher profits. Telenor's previous investments in a growing subscriber base and in increased capacity and coverage are now showing high return. At the same time, all our mobile operations successfully defended or even improved their market positions," said President and CEO of Telenor, Jon Fredrik Baksaas.
Mobile operations
Operations in the mature markets in Scandinavia experienced increased average revenue per user (ARPU), mainly due to increased usage. The Swedish operation was successfully renamed and rebranded as Telenor subsequent to the acquisition of Vodafone Sweden in the beginning of 2006.
At the end of the first quarter of 2006, Telenor's estimated market share in Norway, measured in the number of mobile subscriptions, was 56 per cent. This is in line with the end of the fourth quarter of 2005. The number of contract subscriptions increased by 28,000 in the first quarter, while the total number of subscriptions decreased by 9,000.
"In addition to the increase in ARPU we are seeing in our mature markets, we are especially satisfied that Kyivstar maintained its market leader position in Ukraine, while delivering strong results. We are also particularly pleased with the record-high growth in DTAC in Thailand, which passed 10 million subscriptions in April. At the end of the first quarter, the companies in which we have ownership interests had 90 million mobile subscriptions, and we are well on our way to passing the 100-million milestone already this year," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas.
Fixed
In Fixed Norway, the trend from previous quarters continued in the first quarter of 2006, with an increase in the number of xDSL and VoIP subscriptions, and a reduction in the number of PSTN/ISDN subscriptions. Also during the quarter, the number of xDSL subscriptions in Norway increased by 36,000 to 511,000. At the end of the first quarter of 2006, Telenor's estimated market share for xDSL in the retail market was 58 per cent, measured in number of subscriptions, which is in line with the end of the fourth quarter 2005. Telenor is the market leader within broadband in Scandinavia, with a total of 1.2 million subscriptions at the end of the first quarter of 2006.
Broadcast
The number of direct-to-home (DTH) pay-TV subscribers increased by 12,000 in the first quarter of 2006, reaching 918,000. The number of cable TV subscribers increased by 3,000, reaching 684,000 subscribers, and the number of cable TV Internet access subscribers increased by 5,000, reaching 78,000.
Increased expectations for 2006
"The strong growth in mobile subscriptions during 2005 gives Telenor a solid foundation for further growth in revenues. We expect an increase in reported revenues of around 30 per cent in 2006, and we expect the EBITDA margin before other income and expenses to be above 34 per cent," said President and CEO of Telenor, Jon Fredrik Baksaas.
The table below contains key figures from the first quarter 2006, compared to first quarter 2005 and the full year 2005.
Key figures (NOK in millions except earnings per share) Q1 2006 Q1 2005 Year 2005 Revenues 21,873 15,270 68,927 Revenues - growth (%) 43.2 7.2 13.8 EBITDA before other income and expenses 7,951 5,085 24,078 EBITDA before other income and expenses/revenues (%) 36.4 33.3 34.9 Adjusted operating profit 4,430 2,381 12,534 Adjusted operating profit/Revenues (%) 20.3 15.6 18.2 Profit after taxes and minority interests (Net income) 3,692 1,710 7,646 Earnings per share from total operations, basic, in NOK 2.18 0.99 4.47 Investments (capex) 3,703 3,360 16,439 Net interest-bearing liabilities 34,956 15,933 30,858
For more information and detailed figures please refer to the quarterly report on www.telenor.com/ir.
Photos
A photo of Telenor's President and CEO, Jon Fredrik Baksaas, standing in front of the presentation is already available on http://www.telenor.com/press/image_gallery/archieve/040506.shtml. Photos from the press and analyst conference will be available from the same Internet address immediately after the conference.
To the editorial offices:
Press and analyst conference
In connection with the results presentation, a press and analyst conference will be held on Thursday 4 May 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 available on www.telenor.com/ir. 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.
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 presentations 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.