Telenor said it now expects to report a small increase in underlying EBITDA this year, after a return to growth in the third quarter. Organic subscription and traffic revenue is still expected to show a low single-digit decline as some countries in Asia, such as Thailand and Malaysia, are affected by lower revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the third quarter, Telenor reported total revenues of NOK 30.01 billion, up 5.6 percent from a year earlier thanks to positive currency effects and the acquisition of DNA in Finland. Subscription and traffic revenues decreased by 2 percent on an organic basis, mainly driven by the continued decline in prepaid at Dtac, as well as the shortfall in roaming revenues in the Nordics.
Telenor said the results from the Nordic operations were strong this quarter. In its home market Norway, the company saw strong intake on new speed-based price plans, and subscriber numbers also were growing in Finland, Denmark and Sweden. Pakistan and Bangladesh also showed strong subscriber growth this quarter, as the impact of the pandemic abated there, while Myanmar numbers were affected by SIM re-registrations and changes in price regulation. Including the difficulties in Thailand and Malaysia, the company ended the period with 180.3 million mobile subscriptions, down by around 2.1 million from three months earlier.
Adjusted EBITDA rose to NOK 14.57 billion from NOK 13.13 billion a year ago, good for a margin of 48.6 percent. On an organic basis, the result was up 3.6 percent, supported by an 8 percent fall in underlying operating expenses. This led to the increase in the company's full year forecast, for adjusted EBITDA to show low single-digit organic growth compared to a previous forecast for a flat result.
Telenor maintained its forecast for annual capex of around 13 percent of revenues. In Q3, capex rose to NOK 4.07 billion from NOK 3.73 billion a year earlier; excluding licences and spectrum, spending was around 12 percent of revenues.
