Telenor Earnings: Nordics Strong, but Unrest in Bangladesh Weighs on Group

Narrow-moat Telenor reported service revenue organic growth of 2.1% to NOK 16.2 billion and group EBITDA growth of 1.8% to NOK 9.2 billion, a touch behind company-compiled consensus but largely explained by a confluence of social unrest in Bangladesh. As a result, organic service revenue in Asia fell by 1%. On the back of strong results in the Nordics, management narrowed group level organic EBITDA growth guidance to 3%-4% from midsingle digits and increased its free cash flow before mergers and acquisitions ambition to the top half of the guided NOK 9 billion-NOK 10 billion. We continue to believe Telenor is on track to achieve its ambitions. We maintain our NOK 130 fair value estimate.