Uninor Q2 Loss Widens to Rs 169.83 Crore

New Delhi: Telecom operator Uninor on Wednesday reported widening of operating loss to about Rs 170 crore for the second quarter that ended on June 30, 2014.

The company had reported a loss of about Rs 102 crore in the quarter ended June 2013.

Its Q2 revenue, however, increased 46.34 per cent to about Rs 1,020 crore from Rs 697 crore in the year-ago period.

In terms of Norwegian krones, revenue of Uninor increased 40.3 per cent to 1,021 million krones in Q2, 2014 from 728 million krones in Q2, 2013.

The difference between the growth in terms of Norwegian krone and rupee has been due variation in exchange rates.

"I am pleased to note strong performance by our operations in Sweden and Malaysia as well as growth in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India," Jon Fredrik Baksaas, president and CEO of Telenor Group, said in a financial report.

Telenor is the parent company of Uninor.

During the quarter Uninor added over 2 million new subscribers in India over the last quarter. Uninor had 39.3 million subscribers at the end of June, as per industry data released by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), an industry body.

"In two of the three months of this quarter for which reports have been published, Uninor has added more subscribers in its six circles than any other mobile operator on any platform. This shows the success of our mass market strategy. Sabse Sasta voice and sabse sasta Internet for all," Uninor chief executive Morten Karlsen Sorby said.

Uninor said its internet subscriber base during the quarter improved by 32 per cent since the beginning of the year while revenue from internet services grew 42 per cent. The company did not disclose actual numbers related to its mobile Internet subscribers.

The company operates in six circles of UP East, UP West, Bihar (including Jharkhand), Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra (including Goa) and Gujarat.

It recently acquired spectrum in the seventh circle of Assam and expects to launch the service shortly.