Uninor on Thursday said that Uttar Pradesh East has become its first circle to achieve break-even. This means the company’s operations in UP East are now profitable, with revenues being higher than operating costs (EBITDA break-even).

This is the fastest break-even by any mobile operator in any circle in India.

“This is the latest in several major achievements, and of course, among the most crucial of all. I extend our gratitude to the millions of subscribers in India who have chosen Uninor over others. I am delighted to celebrate the first break-even circle in India, an achievement that starts the countdown towards a profitable Uninor,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of the Telenor Group.

In the six circles where fresh spectrum has been secured, Uninor serves over 30 million subscribers. At the time of achieving break-even, Uninor in UP East serves over 7.2 million customers. Uninor incurs a cost of 18 paisa per minute, the lowest among all operators in the circle. Its spectrum usage efficiency is 40% higher than all others.

“What makes this remarkable is that we are now profitable while offering highly competitive tariffs and managing to keep a strong market focus in an extremely challenging business and regulatory environment over the past year. I credit this achievement to the choice our customers, employees and business partners are making every day,” said Sigve Brekke, MD of Uninor and Head of Telenor Asia.

Telenor Group has secured 5 MHz spectrum UP East, UP West, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the recently concluded auctions. This allows Uninor operations to continue seamlessly in the new company for a period of 20 years. Together, these six circles account for over 50% of India’s population. With a mobile penetration as low as 40%, these circles represent the markets where the real future growth is happening. There are 95 mid-size cities in these six circles that have grown an average 37% over the past decade. Five of these have grown in triple digits.

Telenor Group expects its remaining circles to begin achieving the break-even targets in the months to come.