By Tony Hallett, 23 October 2000 15:05
NEWS Although revenue increased 12 per cent to E1.5bn (£875m) over the period, earnings fell from E484m (£281m) to E410m (£240m), broadly in line with analysts' expectations. The Finnish telco, still 53 per cent government owned, also stands to make one-off gains from the sale of its respective 7.9 and 8.9 per cent stakes in US mobile outfits Voicestream and Powertel, which are both being acquired by Deutsche Telekom. Sonera highlighted strong growth in its mobile communications and services businesses, and said it is satisfied with its increased revenues. Despite the promise of the company's SmartTrust and Zed security and internet operations, remarks earlier this month from Kaj-Erik Relander, deputy CEO of Sonera, which suggest the company may not agree to a strategic alliance or merger with another major telco by year's end sent shares lower. Although up over 10 per cent today, shares in Sonera are still trading 75 per cent below their March high.
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