Telecom Lead India: Mobile service provider Uninor has
posted 48.2 percent in revenues at 1.03 billion Norwegian krone in the quarter
under review.
The company said that quarterly growth was complemented
by increase in subscription base.
Uninor has posted operating loss of 619 million Norwegian
krone in the April-June quarter, down from 1.2 billion Norwegian krone for the
same quarter a year ealier.
During the quarter, Uninor added 2.2 million new
subscribers in India during the quarter, taking the total base to 33.7
million.
Telenor holds about 67 per cent stake in the Indian joint
venture Uninor while the rest is being owned by domestic real estate
major Unitech.
For the quarter ended June 30, Telenor Group’s earnings
EBITDA increased to 7.84 billion Norwegian kroner from 7.24 billion Norwegian
kroner for the year earlier period.
Telenor Group’s revenues increased by 4.1 percent to
reach at 25.35 billion Norwegian krone.
For the full year, Telenor expects revenue growth
excluding India to rise more than 4 per cent and expects EBITDA margin in the
range of 35-36 per cent.
Uninor to scale down operations in Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
Karnataka and Orissa
In addition to the good quarterly results, Uninor has
decided to scale down operations in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Orissa
telecom circles.
The decision to bring down the business is due to the
ongoing regulatory uncertainties.
The operator’s licenses were revoked along with other
operators by the Supreme Court of India in February this year.
“As a response to the uncertain regulatory
environment we are now re-allocating resources to the nine most profitable
circles. In this manner, we aim to shorten the time and reduce the cost for the
operation to become self-financed, thereby reducing the risk of the India
investment,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, Chief Executive of Telenor.
Telenor is also planning to slash 2,000 jobs in Indian
telecom market, which is part of a cost-cutting drive.
Telenor will reallocate resources to more profitable
regions in India and brought forward by a year and a half the break-even point
for a unit that has never turned a profit.
editor@telecomlead.com
