Telenor - Fourth quarter and preliminary result for the year 2005 - significant growth continues

"In addition to significant growth in revenues and increased EBITDA margin, three key points from the fourth quarter of 2005 deserve special attention. We have seen another quarter with record-high growth in the number of mobile subscriptions in Telenor's operations, and by the end of the quarter the companies in which we have ownership interests had 82.7 million subscriptions. Telenor increased its economic exposure in DTAC in Thailand to 69.3 per cent. Furthermore, the acquisition of Vodafone Sweden in December strengthened Telenor's position in the Nordic region," says Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas.

The table below contains key figures from the fourth quarter and the year 2005, compared to the same periods the previous year:

Mobile operations
Several of the mobile operations have seen record-high growth in the fourth quarter, and all operations maintained their positions in the market. The number of mobile subscriptions in operations in which Telenor has ownership interests increased by 8.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, reaching 82.7 million. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2005, the total number of mobile subscriptions in consolidated operations had increased by 14.3 million, to 42.2 million. During the quarter, DTAC in Thailand was consolidated. Vodafone Sweden will be consolidated from January 2006.

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2005, Telenor's estimated market share in Norway, measured in number of mobile subscriptions, was 56 per cent. This is in line with the end of the third quarter of 2005. Yet again, Kyivstar in Ukraine and GrameenPhone in Bangladesh reported record-high growth in the fourth quarter. Sonofon in Denmark continued the improvement from the previous quarters. At the end of the fourth quarter, Telenor Pakistan had 1.9 million subscriptions and an estimated market share of nine per cent.

Fixed
The trend in Fixed Norway from previous quarters continued in the fourth quarter of 2005, with an increase in the number of xDSL and broadband telephony subscriptions, and a reduction in the number of PSTN/ISDN subscriptions. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2004, total revenues derived from Fixed Norway were reduced by 3.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2005, to NOK 4,186 million. As a consequence of the income trend at the fixed-line operation in Norway, Telenor will continue its efforts to reduce costs and improve all parts of its operations. The overall goal, as previously announced, is to reduce the cost base at Fixed by NOK 1.5 billion, with full effect from 2007, compared to the 2004 cost base.

During the quarter, the number of xDSL subscriptions in Norway increased by 31,000 to 475,000. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2005, Telenor's estimated market share for xDSL was 58 per cent, compared to 59 per cent at the end of the third quarter of 2005. In Scandinavia, Telenor is the market leader within broadband, with a total of 940,000 subscriptions at the end of the fourth quarter of 2005.

Broadcast
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2004, revenues from Broadcast increased by seven per cent in the fourth quarter of 2005, reaching NOK 1,466 million. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2005, Broadcast had 906,000 DTH subscribers, 681,000 cable TV subscribers, and 73,000 Internet subscribers via cable TV.

Continued growth expected in 2006
"Throughout the year we have seen significant customer growth within mobile, and we are well-positioned for continued growth in revenues. Based upon the current Group structure we expect an increase in revenues of between 25 and 30 per cent in 2006, and the EBITDA margin will be around 33 per cent," said President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas.

*EBITDA before other income and expenses. For more information and detailed figures please refer to the quarterly report on www.telenor.com/ir

Contact:

Head of Information Scott Engebrigtsen
Telenor ASA, Tel: +47 90043484, E-mail scott@telenor.com

To the editorial offices:

Press and analyst conference
In connection with the results presentation, a press and analyst conference will be held on Thursday 16 February at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium A, Telenor Expo Visitors' Centre, at the Telenor Headquarters at Fornebu outside Oslo. President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Trond Westlie will present the results. All presentations will be given in English.

Internet and mobile broadcast
The press and analyst conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will available on www.telenor.com/ir. During the live transmission, written questions may be submitted via the Internet. The conference will also be available live, and in a recorded version, on mobile phones with 3G, GPRS or EDGE.

For more details please refer to www.telenor.com/ir.

Conference call and Q&A
The press and analyst conference will also be available as a conference call. This service also allows participants to ask questions at a concluding Q&A session, which will be held immediately after the presentations and a brief Q&A session in the auditorium. Please register well in advance on (+47) 800 80 119 (from Norway) or (+47) 23 00 04 00 (from Norway or abroad).

Materials
English language versions of the full quarterly report and all presentations used during the press and analyst conference will be made available on www.telenor.com/ir.