EBITDA before other items was NOK 8.42 billion, EBITDA margin was 34 percent, and operating cash flow was NOK 5.6 billion. "The first quarter of 2013 is characterised by a solid operating cash flow of NOK 5.6 billion, strong margins in several operations and good progress in operational performance in India. The strengthened EBITDA margin of 34% is further supported by a higher share of bundled subscriptions and good network quality in the Norwegian operation,'' said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group.

"The organic revenue growth for the Group this quarter is weaker than previous quarters due to lower growth contribution from India and handset sales, as well as regulatory factors. However, we regard the underlying trends as positive. We see healthy mobile service revenue growth in our operations in Norway and Thailand contributing to solid margins, as well as strong customer acquisition in Bangladesh. Regulatory issues impacted our performance in Pakistan this quarter however we now see sales picking up. During this quarter, dtac in Thailand completed a nationwide network upgrade and is preparing for the launch of 3G services on the 2.1GHz frequency band in the second quarter. This will represent an important milestone in the transition from a concession to a licencing regime,'' said Baksaas.

"In Norway, we continue to invest to secure our customers' access to superior mobile network coverage and high quality of services. We have recently adjusted our mobile market offers to adapt to changing customer needs and the transition to data. We see positive effects from operational efficiency this quarter, and regard this as a key contributor to value creation going forward, " said Baksaas.

"To enable our customers to take advantage of the opportunities that the Internet offers, we need to be responsive to change. The growth in demand for data centric services requires significant investments in high-speed networks. It is therefore paramount that we continue to implement sustainable business models to secure long-term return on these investments," said Baksaas.

"Based on the performance in the first quarter and our estimates for the rest of the year, we adjust the 2013 outlook for organic revenue growth somewhat to 2-4 percent. At the same time, we maintain the outlook for EBITDA margin and capex/sales." said Baksaas.

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