India has challenging regulatory environment: Telenor

Hit by an operating loss of 5.04 billion Norwegian Kroner (about $876 million) in its India operations in 2010, Norwegian telecom major Telenor today said the country has a "challenging regulatory environment".

Telenor operates a joint venture, Uninor, in India with Unitech as its partner. Uninor added more than four million subscribers in the fourth quarter ended December. At the end of 2010, Telenor held 67.25% stake in Uninor.

For the entire year, Uninor's operating loss widened to 5.04 billion Norwegian Kroner (NOK) from 985 million NOK in the year-ago period.

"Uninor in India added more than four million subscriptions in the fourth quarter and I am pleased to see that our go-to-market model is gradually improving.

"India is a very competitive market coupled with a challenging regulatory environment, and we are focusing strongly on establishing Uninor as an ultra low cost operator," Telenor Group President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas said in a statement.

Uninor's operating loss in the 2010 fourth quarter widened to 1,272 million NOK from 755 million NOK in the year-ago period.

However, the group's 2010 profit shot up nearly 66% to 14.33 billion NOK as compared to 2009. The increased earnings came on revenues of 94.84 billion NOK.

Meanwhile, in the fourth quarter, the group's profit slipped three% to 2.10 billion NOK, compared to the year-ago period. Revenues during the October-December period rose to 24.86 billion NOK from 22.42 billion NOK in the same period in 2009.

Baksaas said, "Telenor confirms its position as one of Europe's fastest growing telcos, with organic revenue growth of 8% and strong operational performance.

"In 2010, the Telenor Group had an operating cash flow of 18 billion NOK and a solid EBITDA margin."