Telecom group Telenor's third quarter profits up
Oslo - Norwegian telecommunications group Telenor reported higher third-quarter net profits Thursday and said it has added 4 million mobile phone subscribers to its business.
Net profit from continuing operations was 4.1 billion kroner (722 million dollars), compared to 3.49 billion kroner in the corresponding business period 2008.
Sales in the quarter were 24.3 billion kroner, compared to 23.4 billion kroner in third quarter of 2008.
The group has some 172 million mobile subscribers worldwide.
In addition to Norway and neighbouring Sweden and Denmark, Telenor has operations in Hungary, Serbia, Ukraine, Montenegro, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh.
"There are some positive signs in the Nordics and Asia," chief executive Jon Fredrik Baksaas told analysts, noting there was "continued strong demand for mobile broadband" in Telenor's Norwegian homebase.
The economic downturn continued to impact the group's business in Central and Eastern Europe, he said, describing the market as "sluggish".
The Grameenphone unit in Bangladesh and Malaysia faired well.
In India preparations continued for the launch of services, and according to Telenor this was due at the end of the fourth quarter.
The group has earlier acquired a stake in Indian group Unitech Wireless. (dpa)