Telecom network operator Telenor Group said it made an investment of NOK 5,546 million or $678 million towards Capex (capital expenditure) in the first quarter of 2016.
The company said capital expenditure excluding licenses and spectrum in Q1 2016 grew by NOK 0.9 billion mainly due to higher investments in Grameenphone and Telenor India.
Telenor Group added 5.4 million mobile subscribers globally — 2.2 million in Pakistan, 1.8 million in Myanmar and 1.5 million in India. The total customer base now stands at 208 million and about 40 percent are active internet users.
Telenor revenue reached NOK 33 billion (+1.5 percent) or $4.03 billion. Mobile subscription and traffic revenue grew 6 percent.
“We connected more than five million new customers as we continue to improve our network and service quality across our footprint. 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,”’ said Telenor Group CEO Sigve Brekke.
Telenor India
The regional telecom operator’s revenue was NOK 1,520 million (NOK 1,383 million) or $186 million as Telenor India added 1.5 million mobile subscriptions during the first quarter. ARPU in local currency fell 8 percent to INR 90 — primarily driven by lower voice consumption and the impact from reduced mobile termination rate, partly compensated by increased data usage.
Telenor India made an investment of NOK 409 million (NOK 109 million) in Q1 2016. The network modernization initiated in the third quarter last year continued in the first quarter and impacted the capital expenditure for the quarter, as well as accelerated depreciations of current network assets.
Revenue of Telenor India in local currency increased 7 percent. Subscription and traffic revenue rose 9 percent. The EBITDA improved as result of the revenue growth and positive effects from the ongoing network modernization program, including positive impact of NOK 26 million related to settlements with various vendors.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com
