Victoria Klesty

OSLO (Reuters). -Storm Telenor in Norway posted quarterly earnings that were below forecasts due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It also reiterated its outlook for 2020.

The adjusted earnings before interest tax, deduction and amortization (EBITDA), for the period July-September, fell to 12.86 Billion Norwegian crowns ($1.52billion) from 13.62 Billion in the previous year. This was lower than the 13.19Billion analysts had expected, according to Telenor’s poll.

This group receives roughly half of its revenue in Asia while the other comes from the Nordics which serve 172 millions customers.

Telenor stated in a statement that “the low level of international travel will probably remain until restrictions are lifted and mass-vaccination gains traction.”

From 21.5 billion at the end of 2020, subscription and traffic revenue declined to 20.7 trillion crowns. This does not include its Myanmar business.

Telenor canceled the Myanmar operations of this company earlier in the year after a coup.

Telenor, citing difficulties in operating under military rule, agreed in July to sell its Southeast Asian business to M1 Group in Lebanon for $105 Million.

Since then, the company has stated that the main reason why it quit the country was because of pressure by the junta to activate intercept monitoring technology.

A minister from the junta told Reuters that Myanmar’s military rulers asked Telenor executives to stay in Myanmar pending approval by regulators of the deal.