Norway's Telenor has reported a sevenfold increase in profit for the second quarter, thanks to gains from the Vimpelcom-Kyivstar merger.
Net profit was 9.6 billion Norwegian kronor (€1.18 billion), a result which was boosted by an exceptional 6.5 billion kronor gain due to the merger of its stake in Vimpelcom and Kyivstar into a joint venture with the Alfa group.
Revenue grew to 25.2 billion kronor due to gains in its Asian operations.
Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas said the company had achieved organic revenue growth of 13% in Asia.
The company increased the footprint of its Indian venture Uninor to cover five more circles, bringing the total to 13 out of 22. But operating losses increased to 1.3 billion kronor as the rollout continued.
Each of the company's assets in Asia – which also include Thailand's DTAC, Malaysia's DiGi, and Grameenphone in Bangladesh and Pakistan - increased their revenue year on year.
Europe presented more of a mixed bag, with revenue gains in Norway and Sweden offset by falls in Denmark, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro.
Group capex grew to 3.3 billion kronor from 3.0 billion, and operating cash flow fell to 1.8 million kronor from 12.3 million kronor.