Telenor warns of rising 5G costs in Malaysia

Post by : Bianca Suleiman

Norwegian telecom giant Telenor reported third-quarter earnings slightly below market expectations on Wednesday, citing rising 5G-related costs in Malaysia that led to a negative adjustment of 500 million Norwegian crowns (US$49.8 million).

The company’s adjusted EBITDA rose 5.4% organically to 9.54 billion crowns, compared to analyst expectations of 9.60 billion crowns. Following the announcement, Telenor’s shares dropped about 3% in early Oslo trading.

Despite strong performance across its Nordic operations, the group’s results were slightly weaker than anticipated, with challenges emerging in Asian markets.

In Asia, Telenor posted a 4.1% organic EBITDA growth, supported mainly by a rebound in Grameenphone, its majority-owned operator in Bangladesh. Grameenphone recorded revenue growth for the first time after four consecutive quarters of decline, recovering gradually from last year’s political and economic turbulence.

However, Telenor continues to face headwinds in Malaysia. The company, which holds a 33.1% stake in CelcomDigi Bhd alongside Axiata Group, noted an increase in 5G rollout expenses through their associated 5G network firm. As a result, Telenor made a 0.5 billion crown negative adjustment to its share of results from CelcomDigi this quarter.

Looking ahead, Telenor maintained a cautiously optimistic outlook, projecting 5–6% organic growth in adjusted EBITDA for 2025 and 8–9% growth in the Nordics, while expecting 2–3% growth in Nordic service revenues.