Nordic operator TeliaSonera reported a 6.4 percent year-on-year rise in net profit for the first quarter as lower costs helped boost the operator’s margins. The Swedish firm posted net profit of SEK4.72 billion (US$657.8 million) for the quarter, up from SEK4.4 billion a year earlier but slightly below the forecast of SEK4.96 billion expected by analysts in a Dow Jones Newswire poll. Sales fell 3.9 percent to SEK26.09 billion from SEK27.14 billion against expectations of SEK26.51 billion, largely as a result of negative exchange rate effects. Net sales in local currencies excluding acquisitions were up 2.5 percent from a year earlier. The operator maintained its guidance for slightly higher sales for the full year. “The growth that we saw in the first quarter makes me more confident than a couple of months ago that we will reach our forecast of somewhat higher net sales in local currencies than last year,” said CEO Lars Nyberg.

Nyberg was cautious on investment plans for the rest of the year 2010, noting that some investments have been delayed due to weather conditions and supplier negotiations. He added that that the firm would look to “selectively increase our investments in bandwidth, both in our fixed and mobile networks.” TeliaSonera became the first international operator to commercially launch LTE at the end of last year, switching on its first networks in Stockholm (Sweden) and Oslo (Norway). It has subsequently pledged to roll-out the networks nationwide in both countries and Nyberg confirmed today that the operator was also looking at acquiring LTE spectrum in other countries where it operates, including in Denmark and the Baltic countries.