Telenor reports profit fall but maintains outlook

Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor reported second-quarter earnings within expectations on Thursday and said it maintained its outlook for the rest of the year. For the April to June period, Telenor's net profit fell to 4.5 billion kroner (576.4 million euros, $819.8 million) from 9.6 billion kroner in the same period last year, though last year's result included exceptional gains from a transaction involving holdings in Vimpelcom of Russia and Kievstar of Ukraine. Second-quarter sales grew by 3.0 percent to 24.4 billion kroner, Telenor said. The results were in line with expectations of analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires and exceeded the earnings of Swedish rival TeliaSonera which had reported a sales drop of 4.0 percent and disappointing profits. Telenor said it expected sales growth in 2011 of more than 5.0 percent. Telelnor, which is 54-percent state owned, also announced a share buyback programme for about 3.0 percent of its floating stock available for trading on the stock market.