Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke (pictured) pointed to rapid digitalisation across the Nordic region as a contributor to earnings growth in Q1, fuelled by strength in its mobile business and a turnaround in its fixed unit.

In an earnings statement, Brekke claimed the company was potentially the first incumbent operator which was free from its legacy infrastructure, after it decommissioned its copper network in Norway.

Brekke said moving forward, Telenor will continue to push a Nordic modernisation agenda to drive profitable growth through 5G network and services investment.

Revenue increased from NOK18.4 billion ($1.7 billion) in Q1 2022 to NOK19.2 billion, driven mainly by higher service sales in the Nordics.

Telenor’s mobile business was fuelled by demand for valued-added services, higher roaming revenue, larger subscriber bases in Finland and Sweden, and greater ARPU after price adjustments.

Net income grew from NOK6.6 billion to NOK18.1 billion, mainly because of a one-off gain related to closure of a merger between dtac and True in Thailand.

Revenue in the Nordics increased 7 per cent, with Finland and Denmark performing the strongest.

In Asia, Telenor cited growth through price adjustments and increased data use in Bangladesh, although this was offset by Pakistan where it was impacted by the macroeconomic environment.

Asia revenue fell 8 per cent to NOK4.7 billion.

As well as the deal in Thailand, Telenor also completed a $15 billion merger in Malaysia and both units are now listed as discontinued operations, contributing to the drop in its top-line.