KUALA LUMPUR: Norwegian telecom operator Telenor has posted quarterly earnings slightly below market expectations and flagged a negative adjustment of 500 million Norwegian crowns (US$49.8mil) related to rising 5G costs in Malaysia.
Telenor’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 5.4% organically to 9.54 billion crowns in the third quarter, while analysts polled by it had expected 9.60 billion crowns on average.
5G-related costs are increasing in Malaysia, chief executive officer (CEO) Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer said.
Telenor is the top shareholder in the country’s largest mobile network operator CelcomDigi together with Axiata, with a 33.1% stake each.
“Based on the latest public information, we make a 0.5 billion crown negative adjustment to our share of results from CelcomDigi this quarter related to its associated 5G network company in Malaysia,” the CEO said. — Reuters
