Swedish telecoms group TeliaSonera has posted its results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2008, in which its consolidated revenues increased by 4.1% year-on-year to SEK25.817 billion (USD3.254 billion), up from SEK24.798 billion in 3Q 2007. EBITDA excluding non-recurring items increased to SEK8.949 billion from SEK8.714 billion a year earlier, although the margin was reduced to 34.7% (35.1%). Operating income (EBIT) excluding one-offs fell to SEK8.203 billion (SEK8.354 billion) and net income attributable to shareholders dropped to SEK4.772 billion (SEK5.399 billion).
TeliaSonera’s total number of subscribers reached 127.9 million at the end of September, after 1.2 million new subscriptions were added in the third quarter by majority-owned operations, and 3.8 million by associated companies, compared to the end of the second quarter. Lars Nyberg, group president and CEO, commented on the results: ‘Third quarter performance was good with growing sales and strong EBITDA, driven by Mobility Services and Eurasia. We successfully managed to protect margins in Mobility Services despite intense competition and regulatory intervention in the form of lower interconnect and roaming fees. Sales in Broadband Services were essentially flat in absolute terms, but there is a considerable change in the underlying product mix, which puts pressure on margins. Improving operational efficiency remains one of our top priorities.’