Telenor Lowers 2026 Outlook Amid Nordic Weakness and Bangladesh Pressure
Telenor announced on Thursday that it has lowered its full‑year financial outlook after second‑quarter earnings were adversely affected by weaker trading in its Nordic markets and continued pressure in Bangladesh. The Norwegian telecom group now expects organic adjusted EBITDA growth for 2026 to be flat to slightly negative, revising its prior expectation of flat to low single‑digit growth.
The company also narrowed its free‑cash‑flow‑before‑M&A guidance to approximately NOK 10 billion, down from the earlier range of NOK 10 billion to NOK 11 billion. For its Nordic operations, Telenor now projects flat to low single‑digit growth in both service revenue and EBITDA, trimming earlier forecasts.
Chief Executive Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer explained that slower‑than‑expected revenue growth in Norway and Finland, higher operating costs, contract‑related headwinds, and a challenging macroeconomic backdrop in Bangladesh collectively prompted the downgrade. She added that the benefits of the company’s transformation programme are expected to become more visible toward the end of the year.
Financial performance for the second quarter showed adjusted EBITDA falling 9.0% year‑on‑year to NOK 7.99 billion from NOK 8.78 billion. Reported revenue declined 5.1% to NOK 18.14 billion. Net income attributable to shareholders dropped 32.3% to NOK 2.52 billion.