Business

Friday July 24, 2009

Sweden's TeliaSonera 2Q profit up 8%


STOCKHOLM: Nordic telecommunications operator TeliaSonera AB reported an 8 percent rise in second-quarter net profits Friday, boosted by higher sales and by reaping the benefits of previous cost-saving measures.

The Stockholm-based company also raised its outlook for margins in operating profit, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, saying they will be higher this year than in 2008.

TeliaSonera said net profit in the April through June period came to around 4.5 billion kronor ($600 million), up from 4.1 billion kronor in the second quarter a year ago.

Sales, which grew by about 9 percent in the three-month period, reached 27.5 billion kronor compared with 25.3 billion kronor in the same quarter in 2008.

It said it expects its efforts to keep costs at bay, and the company will manage to "offset the negative impact from declining gross domestic product and rising unemployment in our markets."

TeliaSonera CEO Lars Nyberg said he was pleased with the results, considering the turbulence affecting the world's economies.

"We are delivering on the issues that we can control ourselves, namely cost reductions and careful capital spending," he said, noting the negative trends it saw in the first quarter of lower equipment sales, reduced roaming because of less business travel and lower usage, had continued in most of its markets also in the second quarter.

Organic revenue growth in Eurasia had improved slightly from the first quarter though, he said. - AP

On the Net:


www.teliasonera.com

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story