Telenor sees Broadcast revenues slip

Telenor’s Fornebu HQ

Norwegian telecom operator Telenor’s broadcast unit saw a 1% decline in revenues in the second quarter caused by currency effects, but grew EBITDA. Declines in its Canal Digital pay TV unit and Telenor Satellite were partly offset by growth at its Norkring domestic transmission services unit.

Telenor Broadcast posted revenues of NOK1.547 billion (€165 million) for the quarter. Canal Digital DTH posted revenues of NOK1.154 billion, down from NOK1.165 billion for the same period last year. Telenor Satellite saw its revenues decline from NOK241 million to NOK227 million, while Norkring grew its revenues from NOK275 million to NOK283 million.

Canal Digital did see EBITDA grow however, up from NOK217 million to NOK230 million. The group’s subscriber base continued its long, slow decline, losing 4,000 customers in the quarter to end with 851,000.

Overall, Telenor Broadcast’s EBITDA grew from NOK512 million to NOK529 million. Operating profit jumped from NOK232 million to NOK709 million, thanks to a NOK0.5 billion gain related to a financial lease arrangement for satellite transponders.

Telenor as a whole posted revenues of NOK31.4 billion for the quarter, up from NOK30.9 billion. EBITDA grew from NOK11.4 billion to NOK12.7 billion.