Summary Globally, Telenor increased its customers by four million in three months.
OSLO (AFP) - Norwegian telecom giant Telenor on Wednesday raised its 2014 outlook as it reported a "solid financial performance" despite a fall in earnings during the second quarter.
From April to June, net profit dropped by 29 percent to 2.32 billion kroner (278.3 million euros, $375.5 million), weighed on by infrastructure investments, the company said.
But earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose by 7.5 percent to 9.42 billion kroner, beating analyst expectations.
Results were boosted by a rise in data usage, driven by "extensive network expansion and increase in 4G enabled phones", chief executive Jon Fredrik Baksaas said in a statement.
Revenue also grew 4.1 percent during the quarter to 26.8 billion kroner, the company said.
The group said it had performed well in Sweden and Asia, despite sales at its Thai subsidiary Ddtac being hit by political instability, although
the telecom market remained challenging in Denmark.
"On the back of strong performance so far this year and our estimates for the remainder of 2014, we now expect an Ebitda margin above last year," Baksaas said.
Telenor had earlier predicted a stable Ebitda.
In 2013, the margin was 35 percent and in the second quarter, the firm now reached 36 percent.
Revenue is expected to remain "at low single digit growth", the company said.
Investors cheered the news, sending Telenor shares up by 2.35 percent on the Oslo stock exchange in mid-afternoon deals, outpacing a 0.36 percent rise in the main index.
