OSLO (AFP) - Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor on Wednesday said it was sligthly raising its outlook for the year on improved performance in its main markets of Northern Europe and Asia.

• Analysts eye ‘strong growth’ in Nordic telecoms

"As a result of recovery in Asia and improved performance in the Nordic region, we expect a slightly stronger EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) margin for 2010 compared to our previous outlook," Telenor chief executive Jon Fredrik Baksaas said.

The company is now expecting an EBITDA margin of "around 28 percent," against "27 to 28 percent" previously forecasted.

It was 29.9 percent in the first quarter.

Telenor, one of the world's biggest mobile operators, said its net profit meanwhile slumped 36 percent year-to-year to 1.04 billion kroner (132.7 million euros, 172.3 million dollars) in the first quarter.

The figure is slightly below expectations of analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires but the company's operational results were higher than expected.

In the first quarter, Telenor gained an extra five million customers, bringing their number to 179 million worldwide.

Some 1.147 million of those new customers were in India, where Telenor was the 14th player to enter the crowded cellular market in December.

Its Indian division Uninor -- which now has a total of 2.155 million customers -- however stayed in the red, with an EBITDA down 974 million kroner.

"In this initial phase, we are experiencing some challenges," Baksaas said of the Indian market.

Expansion in India was slowed by a new rule forcing telecom providers to run the purchase of new infrastructure equipment through Indian authorities.

The Norwegian state owns 54 percent of Telenor.