Norway's Telenor Reports 16 Pct Rise In Q3 Profit

IAN MacDOUGALL

OSLO (AP) — Norwegian telecommunications group Telenor ASA on Thursday reported a 16 percent rise in third-quarter profit, as strong returns in its Asian markets offset declining profits in the troubled Eastern European operations.

Net profit climbed to 3.5 billion kroner ($610 million) in the third quarter from 3 billion kroner a year earlier. The group drew revenues of 24.3 billion kroner in the July through September period, up slightly from 23.4 billion kroner in the same period in 2008.

A strong quarter in Telenor's Pakistani and Bangladeshi operations and new subscriptions in Scandinavia contributed to a sustained revenue stream.

However, the company took a hit in Ukraine and Serbia, where the global financial crunch has depressed the telecoms market.

Telenor shares closed up 6 percent, at 74.35 kroner ($13.15), on the Oslo stock exchange.

Martin Hoff, an analyst at Arctic Securities, said the result beat the market's expectations and that the cash flow was "very strong."