Telenor claimed strategic investments in technology and cybersecurity provide it with a solid foundation for further growth, as the company delivered a solid set of Q2 results.
Service revenue in the second quarter hit NOK16.3 billion ($1.5 bilion), a 4.5 per cent increase year-on-year while overall sales were flat at NOK20 billion. Net income increased to NOK2.6 billion from NOK821 million, while EBITDA climbed 3.8 per cent to NOK8.8 billion.
The company pointed to growth in its Nordics and Asia divisions. In the former, Telenor said it benefitted from reduced costs, while Thailand had a particularly strong quarter in the latter.
In its earning statement, the company also highlighted progress across cybersecurity and technology.
The company said it had stopped more than 1 billion digital crime attempts against its customers in Norway so far in 2024, blocking fraudulent sites, phishing attempts and malware downloading, as well as fraud attempts through SMS and phone calls.
Through its Telenor Cyberdefence unit, established in June, the company added it was making progress monetising the security segment.
In technology, it pointed to a strategic partnership with Nvidia, which is part of an “ambitious” AI plan. It is also working with AWS to advance sovereign cloud.
Outgoing CEO Sigve Brekke, who will leave at the end of 2024, said when taking on the role nine years ago the talk was about making connectivity a basic necessity, and also finding new ways to create value.
“While I am satisfied with the solid results for the first half of the year, I am even more satisfied with the way we are reshaping and developing Telenor. We have built a strong foundation for the next 5-10 years to come,”