Norway’s Telenor misses Q2 forecast, reiterates focus on cost savings

Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor posted second-quarter results that slightly lagged forecasts on Tuesday, but the company reiterated its outlook and its focus on operational efficiency in its core markets.

The company, which exited eastern Europe and India and now focuses on Scandinavia, Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Bangladesh, reported operational spending savings of close to 1 billion crowns ($123.7 million) so far this year.

“We continue to execute on simplification and increasing efficiency,” Chief Executive Officer Sigve Brekke said in a statement.

“Going forward, we will build on the good momentum and continue to create value by focusing on growth, efficiency and simplification.”

The firm’s quarterly profit before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and other items, or adjusted EBITDA, fell to 11.3 billion crowns from 11.6 billion a year ago. Analysts had expected a profit of 11.4 billion crowns.

Telenor has seen its share price rise 6 percent over the past year after boosting profit, raising its dividend and buying back shares, outperforming the European telecoms index, which fell about 15 percent in the same period.