- 62 % improvement in operating profit in 1st quarter 2009

Telio continues to deliver excellent results, thereby confirming their position as a leading provider of access independent broadband telephone services. Revenues in the first quarter ended at NOK 99.1 million, compared to NOK 94.3 million in the same period last year. The quarterly operating profit of NOK 19.5 million represents a 62 % increase over the same quarter last year.

We are very pleased with the revenues and the operating profit for the first quarter. Telio has focused on profitable growth and on improving results for the last eight quarters, so when we show continued growth in a difficult market and in addition increase our operating profit by 62 %, we are obviously satisfied, says Erik Lunde, CEO of Telio Holding ASA.

Success in international markets
Telio continues to grow in the markets outside Norway as well. Denmark shows steady growth and reports a 57 % increase in the customer base compared to the same period last year. Through existing wholesale agreements in the Dutch market, Telio has achieved a 31% growth in the customer base compared to the same period last year. Telio is looking forward to further growth in the Netherlands as a result of the new wholesale agreement with Pretium Telecom, who will launch Telio based services under their own brand name in the second quarter of 2009.

Telio enters the Swiss market
Telio is planning to copy their highly successful business model and launch IP telephone services in the Swiss end-user market. The Swiss market closely resembles the Norwegian, with high living costs, widespread broadband penetration, and large immigrant communities. The market for IP telephony is still in the early phases of development in Switzerland, and the price level for traditional fixed line telephony is relatively high compared to, for instance, the Nordic market.

We already have an organization in Switzerland and we expect to launch the first services during the fourth quarter this year, says Eirik Lunde.

Telio launches video telephony for the residential market
Telio has a unique position in the Norwegian market, with an IP telephony market share of over 20 %. The company expects to further strengthen this position through the launch of a new video telephony service in the second quarter. Video telephony is particularly attractive for families stretching across multiple generations living at different places and for households with family and friends abroad. The new service offers communication with unique high quality video and wideband audio, at the same favorable terms as Telio offers customers today.

We are the only telecom operator in Norway offering this service, so naturally we consider this an important competitive advantage, says Eirik Lunde.

Strong financial results
In the first quarter the Telio Group achieved revenues of NOK 99.1 million compared to NOK 94.3 million in the year-ago quarter. EBITDA was NOK 30.0 million (30.2 % EBITDA margin) compared to NOK 22.7 million in the same quarter last year (24 % EBITDA margin). Operating profit ended at NOK 19.5 million compared to NOK 12.0 million in the year-ago quarter.

About Telio:
Telio is one of the leading providers of broadband telephone service in Europe. The company is headquartered in Oslo, Norway with operations in Norway, Denmark, Netherlands and Switzerland. Telio has today about 150,000 subscribers. Since the company was founded in 2003 it has had a principal strategy: Low and predictable prices, high customer satisfaction and a world leading technological platform. On the web: www.telio.no

For further information, please contact:
Mr. Eirik Lunde, CEO
Telephone: +47 23 62 66 88
Mobile: +47 48 09 69 64
E-mail: eirik.lunde@telio.no

Download high definition pictures of CEO Eirik Lunde
at http://www.telio.ch/om_telio/presse