Sweden's Telia slightly beats core profit expectations in third quarter

(Reuters) -Swedish telecom operator Telia reported third-quarter core earnings slightly above market expectations on Thursday, driven by profitable service revenue growth and lower operational expenses across most of its markets.  The group's quarterly adjusted operating profit before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 4.4% on a like-for-like basis to 8.46 billion Swedish crowns ($898.52 million), slightly higher than analysts' average forecast of 8.45 billion crowns in a poll provided by Telia. Service revenue increased 1.0% like-for-like driven by continued strong momentum in Sweden and the Baltics, the company said. The company upgraded its free cash flow outlook to around 8 billion crowns for the year, from around 7.5 billion crowns previously. Telia also said that it expected its full-year booked capital expenditures to be around 13 billion crowns, versus a previous forecast of below 14 billion crowns. The company reiterated its 2025 forecast for adjusted EBITDA growth of at least 5% and service revenue growth of around 2%, both on a like-for-like basis. "We have healthy operational momentum in Sweden and the Baltics, and are executing on our plan to strengthen both revenue and overall performance in Norway and Finland," Telia CEO Patrik Hofbauer said in a statement. ($1 = 9.4155 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Elviira Luoma in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Matt Scuffham)

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