OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s Telenor posted quarterly earnings which lagged forecasts on Thursday and reiterated its outlook for 2021.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for July-September fell to 12.86 billion Norwegan crowns ($1.52 billion) from 13.62 billion in the year-ago period, lagging the 13.19 billion analysts expected in a poll compiled by Telenor.
The group, which gets roughly half its revenue from Asia and the rest from the Nordics serving 172 million customers, said the pandemic in Asia was to blame.
“The low level of international travel and roaming volumes will likely remain until restrictions are eased and mass-vaccination has gained traction,” Telenor said.
Subscription and traffic revenues dropped to 20.7 billion crowns from 21.5 billion in the third quarter of 2020. Its Myanmar business, which is held for sale, is not included in the numbers.
(Reporting by Victoria Klesty and Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje Solsvik)
