Telenor Earnings Hit by VimpelCom Impairments

By Matthias Verbergt

Norwegian telecom provider Telenor SA (TEL.OS) on Wednesday said it fell to a third-quarter net loss due to costs related to the part sale of its stake in Amsterdam-based peer VimpelCom Ltd.(VIP).

Telenor said its net loss for the period ending Sept. 30 was 4.82 billion Norwegian kroner ($582.68 million), compared with a net loss of NOK1.77 billion a year earlier, while third-quarter revenue was NOK32.79 billion, up slightly from NOK31.84 billion in the same period last year.

Telenor, which is majority-owned by the Norwegian state, attributed the net loss mainly to effects related to its 33% stake in Russian telecom carrier VimpelCom, of which it last month started selling nearly one-fourth through a public offering.

Telenor said the adjusted price of the VimpelCom shares resulted in a total impairment loss of NOK2.4 billion, as well as a loss of NOK3.2 billion related to a reclassification of translation differences previously recognized in other comprehensive income.

VimpelCom, which is registered in the Netherlands, in February admitted to having paid more than $114 million in bribes to an Uzbekistan official to obtain licenses, and agreed to pay more than $795 million in civil and criminal penalties to U.S. and Dutch authorities.

Telenor had been planning to divest its entire stake in VimpelCom since October 2015.

Adjusted for the VimpelCom-related effects, as well as an impairment loss in India and other items, Telenor said it had profit of NOK4.7 billion.

-Write to Matthias Verbergt at matthias.verbergt@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2016 01:53 ET (05:53 GMT)

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