Swedish telecom operator Tele2 posted an 11% gain in core earnings, matching consensus forecasts, a Reuters report said.
The Reuters report also said the company gave a broad outline of plans to boost business in Russia,
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation , up from 1.59 billion crowns a year earlier after stripping out discontinued operations.
Analysts had on average forecast 1.75 billion crowns, though their forecasts had not taken account of 113 million crowns in one-off charges in Germany and Austria, the Reuters report said.
Tele2 said first-quarter EBITDA margins improved to 17% from 16% a year earlier, exactly matching analysts' expectations. Margins in Russia jumped to 35% from 29% a year earlier.
The Reuters report also quoted ABG Sundal Collier analyst Jesper Wilgodt as saing that 'Russia was a positive surprise, as they reached a 35% margin for the first time. It's positive that they're going in the right direction.'
Wilgodt noted that margins in the Swedish market, as well as in the Baltics, were also around 35%.