Norway's Telenor beats core profit expectations in fourth quarter (updated)
06/02/2026 06:20
Adds share move in lede, results in paragraphs 4-5, detail on Asia operations in paragraph 10 Feb 6 (Reuters) - Norwegian telecom operator Telenor TEL.OL reported fourth-quarter earnings above analysts' expectations on Friday, boosted by a strong performance in the Nordics, sending its shares up nearly 5%. Telenor's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose organically 11.7% to 8.56 billion Norwegian crowns ($875.38 million) in the final quarter of 2025. Analysts polled by Telenor had expected earnings of 8.16 billion crowns on average. Nordic adjusted EBITDA growth was 8.7% on an organic basis, driven by service revenue growth, increased wholesale revenues in Norway, and operating expenditure reductions. In the Nordics, total organic service revenue increased by 6.0% on reported basis and 2.8% organically, Telenor said. The company said it expects low-single digit organic growth in service revenues for the Nordics for 2026, and mid-single digit growth in adjusted EBITDA. For the group as a whole, Telenor expects low-to-mid-single-digit organic growth in adjusted EBITDA for the year, it said. Telenor also announced a planned three-year share buyback programme of 15 billion crowns, when an initial sale of shares in True is completed. The company said in January it would sell its 30.3% stake in Thailand's True Corporation TRUE.BK for 39 billion Norwegian crowns. Telenor has been a major investor in Asian telecoms since the 1990s, building operations in Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Pakistan, but has recently said it is open to deals as the industry matures. For 2025, it proposed a dividend of 9.70 crowns per share. ($1 = 9.7786 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Elviira Luoma, editing by Matt Scuffham) ((Elviira.luoma@thomsonreuters.com))