Swedish operator group TeliaSonera reported revenue growth but lower net income for the fourth quarter of 2011.

Net sales increased by 1 percent to SEK27.12 billion (US$4.0 billion) compared to the same quarter in 2010. However, net income decreased by 6.3 percent to SEK4.97 billion.

For the full year, TeliaSonera’s net sales fell by 2.5 percent to SEK104.35 billion, with net income down 13.7 percent, to SEK 18.34 billion.

During Q4, the group’s subscriber base increased by 2.4 million in consolidated companies and by 3.3 million in associated companies, taking the total to 170 million across all markets.

TeliaSonera president and CEO Lars Nyberg said that the company invested SEK17 billion in networks and licences in 2011 and plans to be the first operator to launch 4G services in many of its markets.

The group has a presence in 13 markets in addition to Sweden and Finland, including Spain (Yoigo), Azerbaijan (Azercell) and Nepal (Ncell).
 
TeliaSonera also completed the first phase of its transaction to increase its ownership of Kazakhstan operator Kcell, buying a 49 percent stake from Kazakhtelecom for US$1.52 billion.  It has also agreed to sell 25 percent of the shares (minus one share) in Kcell in a public offering this year.

Following these steps, TeliaSonera’s ownership of Kcell will have increased from 37.9 percent to 61.9 percent.

Nyberg said the agreement to increase its holding in Kcell was “in line with our strategy of increasing ownership in core holdings.”

TeliaSonera expects an increase in net sales in local currencies excluding acquisitions to grow by between 1 and 2 percent in 2012, with EBITDA margin excluding non-recurring items, to be at a similar level to 2011.