Telenor posts Q1 revenue rise

Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor http://www.telenor.com has announced a 7.2 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2005. As the company reports in a press release on its website, the revenue totalled 15.3 billion Norwegian Krone (1.88 billion euros). Profit before taxes and minority interests was 2.8 billion Norwegian Krone (345 million euros), compared to 5 billion Norwegian Krone (620 million euros) in the first quarter of 2004. According to the company, the main reason for the reduction in profits in comparison to the first quarter of 2004 is mainly due to a gain of 2.6 billion Norwegian Krone (320 million euros) from the sale of Cosmote, posted in the first quarter of 2004. EBITDA in the first quarter of this year was 5.1 billion Norwegian Krone (628 million euros), an increase of 58 million Norwegian Krone (7.14 million euros) compared to the first quarter a year earlier.