Telenor India Q3 operating losses at NoK 373 million

NEW DELHI: Telecom operator Telenor India's operating losses widened to NoK 373 million for the third quarter ended September 2015, against NoK 195 million over the same period last year.

The revenues increased by 31% to NoK 1,411 million during the quarter over the year ago period.

Vivek Sood, CEO, Telenor (India) Communications, said: “Telenor added one million subscriptions in India during the third quarter. The company continues to build on Internet users as part of Internet for All strategy and reported 41% increase in data users’ year-on-year. Currently, Telenor has over 22% of users accessing data services on its network.”

The capex stood at NoK 195 million during the quarter as against NoK 997 million in the year ago period.

At the end of September, the subscription base was 19% higher than the same quarter last year.

In September, Telenor India acquired a refreshed brand identity and extended its commitment to deliver excellence through fair and easy services while retaining its Sabse Sasta position in the market.

However, the rebranding related cost resulted in the EBITDA for the full quarter turning negative, he said.

Post the brand name refresh, we have reinforced our strategy of being most an affordable and value centric brand. Our customer centric approach and high level of transparency has established us as a trusted telecom operator in the market. The free life insurance offering is a step towards expanding security net to mass market,” he added.

Telenor’s pre-paid GSM mobile services are commercially available in the six circles of UP (West), UP (East), Bihar (including Jharkhand), Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It will soon start commercial operations in Assam.