Telenor Magyarorszag, the Hungarian operating arm of Norwegian group Telenor, said its fourth-quarter sales were impacted by the ongoing economic crisis in the country, exacerbated by termination fees cuts and the effect of a ‘crisis tax’. Telenor Hungary booked revenue of HUF42.1 billion (USD213.7 million) in the last three months of 2010, down 5.2% from the corresponding period a year earlier. For the full year, sales reached HUF165.2 billion, a 6.7% year-on-year drop. Fourth-quarter EBITDA was HUF5.33 billion, down dramatically from the HUF15.72 billion it booked in Q4 2009, largely the result of a HUF9.9 billion payment to the government in the form of a telecoms sector crisis. Full year EBITDA reached HUF60.3 billion, an EBITDA margin of 36.5%, and EBIT was HUF9.78 billion. CAPEX dropped to HUF2.55 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010 from HUF3.67 billion a year earlier, boosting full-year capital expenditure to HUF8.91 billion.
Telenor Hungary closed out the year with 3.58 million mobile subscribers, down slightly from 3.61 million a year earlier, though a 36,000 improvement from 30 September 2010. Telenor said its share of the mobile broadband segment was 26.62% as at 31 December 2010, down from 28.46% three months earlier. Telenor competes with Magyar Telekom’s mobile arm and Vodafone Hungary in the local market.