Telenor noted a number of positives in its quarterly results, including an “all-time high” EBITDA, but its bottom line was hit by an impairment charge for its India operation.

It booked a charge of NOK4 billion ($483 million) related to a revaluation of licences held in this market. The period saw Telenor start the process of selling its VimpelCom stake, which also led to a number of charges and financial impacts.

“A key highlight this quarter is the encouraging sign of data monetisation in Bangladesh and Pakistan. While Norway was impacted by lower roaming revenues, we experienced solid uptake on our new mobile tariffs,” Sigve Brekke, CEO, said.

The company reported a net loss of NOK4.8 billion, compared with a prior year loss of NOK1.8 billion, on revenue of NOK32.8 billion, up from NOK31.8 billion. It said that adjusted for India charge and VimpelCom-related effects, it would have seen a profit of NOK4.7 billion.

The revenue growth was attributed to user spend uplifts in Bangladesh and Pakistan, as well as continued development in Myanmar. This was partially offset by lower outgoing roaming revenue in Scandinavia and “intense competition” in Thailand and Malaysia.

EBITDA of NOK12.5 billion was up 5.2 per cent year-on-year. This was the result of the revenue growth, as well as strong margins in Bangladesh and an improved performance in India.

The number of mobile subscriptions was up by 15 million year-on-year but slightly down on the prior quarter, as biometric verification requirements in Bangladesh led to some churn. In total, it has 211 million mobile customers, of which 43 per cent were active data users.