Uninor narrows operating loss to NOK 143 mn in Sept quarter

Company reported an operating loss of NOK 536 million in the corresponding period last year

Norway-based Telenor's India unit, which operates under the brand name Uninor, has narrowed its operating loss to Norwegian Krone 143 million (Rs 148.10 crore) for the third quarter ended September 30, 2013.

The company had reported an operating loss of NOK 536 million (Rs 554.84 crore) in the corresponding period last year.

Revenues of the company also declined to NOK 729 million for the reported quarter as compared to NOK 863 million in the same period last year, the company said in a statement.

However, EBITDA before other items narrowed to NOK (-) 140 million in the September 2013 quarter compared to NOK (-) 408 million.

"Telenor's Indian operation continues to strengthen the 'sabse sasta-most affordable' value proposition in the six operating circles," Telenor said.

The Norwegian firm, however, said that despite meeting all the conditions to continue operations in India, it is yet to get the approvals to transfer the business from Uninor to Telewings. The company has also not got Unified Licences.

"Even though Telenor has fulfilled its part of the conditions for continued operations in India, the Indian authorities have still not given the necessary approvals for the business transfer from Uninor to Telewings nor have they issued the Unified Licences required in order to utilise the spectrum obtained by Telewings," the company said.

Telewings Communication Services, a subsidiary of Telenor, last year won spectrum for Rs 4,018 crore to offer mobile phone services in six circles.

Telenor had sought approval to transfer business from Uninor to Telewings.

"As a result thereof, Telenor is operating its business in India through Uninor under the old spectrum as an interim measure until the business is transferred to Telewings," it added.

Uninor's monthly churn rate, or attrition rate of users, declined from 6% in the second quarter to 5% in the third quarter, along with a 10% reduction in acquisition cost for each new subscriber, it said.

During the quarter, the number of subscriptions increased by 1.5 million taking the total subscriber base to 26 million.

"The quality of the customer base improved, resulting in an increase of average revenue per user (ARPU) in local currency from Rs 97 in the second quarter to Rs 100 in the third quarter," it said.

The company stated that the operating cash flow was stable compared to previous quarter, as the launch of 870 new sites to accommodate for continued revenue growth, added opex and capex this quarter.