Telenor: Turnaround Of Swedish Mobile Ahead Of Schedule

STOCKHOLM -(Dow Jones)- Norwegian telecom operator Telenor is proceeding well with the turnaround of its recently acquired Swedish mobile operation from Vodafone Group, a senior executive said Wednesday.

"I'm pleased to say that the turnaround of Vodafone Sweden is ahead of schedule," said Morten Karlsen Soerby, head of Telenor's operations in the Nordic countries, at the company's capital markets' day in Oslo.

Karlsen Soerby said the target for margin in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the medium term is now above 25%.

Telenor has previously spoken of a 15% EBITDA margin.

Karlsen Soerby said Telenor wants to gain market share in the Scandinavian countries and has made several acquisitions in Sweden and Denmark in the last 12 months.

"We think that obtaining market share is the most important priority for us," Karlsen Soerby said.

-By Magnus Hansson, Dow Jones Newswires; +46 8 545 130 91, magnus.hansson@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires"

Posted to the site on 24th May 2006