Telenor Earnings Hit by VimpelCom Impairments
October 26 2016 - 2:08AM
Dow Jones News
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)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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