FORNEBU, Norway -- In the second quarter of 2006, Telenor's revenues increased by 37 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2005, reaching NOK 22.6 billion. The underlying revenue growth was 12 per cent and the EBITDA margin increased from 34 to 35 per cent. Profit before taxes was NOK 3.9 billion. During the second quarter, the total number of mobile subscriptions increased by six million, reaching 96 million.

"We are delivering yet another solid quarter, with high growth in revenues and increased EBITDA margin. We are very satisfied that several of our mobile operations are performing so well in their markets. In particular, GrameenPhone improved its market position by increasing the customer base by more than 30 per cent during this quarter alone," said President and CEO of Telenor, Jon Fredrik Baksaas.

Mobile operations

GrameenPhone in Bangladesh increased its customer base by more than two million subscriptions in the second quarter to nearly 8.5 million and has a market share of 63 per cent. DTAC increased its market share to 31 per cent, but is facing price erosion in the Thai market. By the end of the second quarter DTAC had more than 10.6 million subscriptions. Kyivstar passed 16 million subscriptions, adding another million subscriptions during the second quarter and maintains its leading position in Ukraine.

In the mature markets in Scandinavia the number of subscriptions increased in both Denmark and Sweden by 11,000 and 16,000 respectively, but decreased by 13,000 in Norway. At the end of the second quarter of 2006, Telenor's estimated market share in Norway, measured in the number of mobile subscriptions, was 55 per cent, compared to 56 per cent at the end of the previous quarter.

Fixed

In Fixed Norway, the trend from previous quarters continued in the second quarter of 2006, with an increase in the number of xDSL and VoIP subscriptions, and a reduction in the number of PSTN/ISDN subscriptions. During the quarter, the number of xDSL subscriptions increased by 16,000 to 527,000. At the end of the second quarter of 2006, Telenor's estimated market share for xDSL in the Norwegian retail market was 58 per cent, measured in number of subscriptions, which was in line with the end of the first quarter of 2006. Telenor maintains its position as the market leader within broadband in Scandinavia, with a total of 1.2 million subscriptions at the end of the second quarter of 2006.

Broadcast

The number of direct-to-home (DTH) TV subscribers increased by 3,000 in the second quarter of 2006, reaching 921,000. The number of cable TV subscribers increased by 3,000, reaching 687,000 subscribers. In June, Norsk Televisjon AS (NTV), which is jointly owned by Telenor and the broadcasting companies the TV2 Group and NRK, was awarded the licence for operation and maintenance of the digital terrestrial network (DTT) in Norway.

Expectations

The outlook from the first quarter is maintained. For 2006, Telenor expects a revenue growth of around 30 per cent with an EBITDA margin before other income and expenses above 34 per cent. Capital expenditure as a proportion of revenues is expected to be above 20 per cent. "We are constantly evaluating how we can improve our performance. This can be seen in the strong margins within our mobile operations and the positive cost development in Fixed Norway. In Sweden, following recent acquisitions, we will reorganise the operations in order to reach our goal of becoming a leading provider of communication services," said President and CEO of Telenor, Jon Fredrik Baksaas.

Telenor Group (Nasdaq: TELN)