Similar to its European telco counterparts, Telenor is also seeing that the business sector's drive to spend less on new services is affecting its second quarter profit. Telenor reported that its net profits for the period were $220 million, down from $568 million in 2008. A $31 million impairment charge from its Telenor Serbia operations contributed to the loss.
However, the service provider did see some bright spots. Fueled by strong performance by Grameenphone in Bangladesh and Mobile Norway, Telenor reported that EBITDA rose to $1.25 million from $1.18 million in the first quarter. While the telco has forecast 2009 organic revenue to be similar with what it saw in 2008, it will be "on the negative side."
For more:
- here's the official release
- Dow Jones has this article
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