Telenor Posts 2Q Impairment Losses

Norwegian telecom operator Telenor ASA (TEL.OS) Thursday said second-quarter net profit fell on heavy impairment losses, but Ebitda improved, indicating a solid performance in core markets despite the economic downturn.

Photo: Telenor Posts 2Q Impairment Losses

"The trends from the first quarter of 2009 continued into this quarter, with a challenging business environment also affecting the telecom sector," Chief Executive Jon Fredrik Baksaas said , Wall Street Journal reports.

"In spite of pressure on the top-line development, our operations are improving their performance, resulting in a record high operating cash flow," said Chief Executive Jan Fredrik Baksaas.

Telenor, which has operations in 13 countries in Europe and Asia, affirmed its 2009 guidance for an EBITDA margin of around 34 percent but put a negative slant on its organic growth goal , Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, Telenor recorded a 1.97 billion-krone goodwill impairment at its Serbian unit as the country’s economic situation deteriorated. Operating profit in Ukraine declined 29 percent as the company lost more than half a million subscriptions to competitors. Thailand, Denmark and Sweden also weakened , Bloomberg reports.