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Norwegian incumbent adds 5.4 million mobile customers driven by India, Myanmar, Pakistan.
Telenor on Wednesday reported a slight rise in first-quarter revenue and profit, as its emerging market units saw strong mobile customer growth.
In the three months to 31 March, the Norwegian incumbent generated revenue of 33.01 billion kroner (€3.58 billion), up 1.5% year-on-year. EBITDA edged up to NOK10.99 billion from NOK10.76 billion in the same period a year earlier, while net income increased 5.6% to NOK5.09 billion from NOK4.82 billion.
"We connected more than 5 million new customers as we continue to improve our network and service quality across out footprint," said Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke, in a statement.
5.4 million new mobile customers to be more precise, driven primarily by Telenor’s operations in India, Myanmar and Pakistan, which added 1.5 million, 1.8 million and 2.2 million respectively, offsetting declines in Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, and Norway.
Telenor ended March with 208 million customers in total.
The telco reiterated its full-year guidance of organic revenue growth in the range of 2%-4%, and an EBITDA margin of 33%-34%.
"With intense competition in several markets, driving profitable growth and keeping a close eye on costs continues to be a priority for me and my management across our European and Asian markets," Brekke said.
