First quarter: Strong momentum into 2010
Fornebu
9 minute read
In the first quarter of 2010, Telenor Group reported revenues of NOK 24 billion, representing an organic revenue growth of 3 per cent. The EBITDA margin in the first quarter of 2010 was 30 per cent, and operating cash flow margin was 20 per cent. Telenor's mobile operations added 5 million subscriptions during the quarter, reaching a total of 179 million.
"The Telenor Group started the year with a strong quarter. Current trends in the Asian and Nordic regions are positive and I am pleased to see that the Telenor Group had a rebound in organic revenue growth. Operating cash flow was close to NOK 5 billion due to a combination of strong financial results and good capital discipline," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor.
"The successful completion of the VimpelCom Ltd. transaction was a milestone for the Telenor Group. The VimpelCom Ltd. share started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on 22 April 2010 and the market value of Telenor Group's 39.6 per cent economic stake in the company was approximately NOK 55 billion after the first day of trading. VimpelCom Ltd.'s strong operations, combined with a significantly improved governance structure, are a good foundation for future value creation," Baksaas said.
"Our operations in the Nordic region continued their strong performance, driven by positive development in the mobile businesses. During the last year, we saw increased demand for user-friendly smartphones, boosting mobile data usage and revenues. While executing the planned upgrades of mobile networks in all Nordic markets we expect to maintain annual operating cash flow at around NOK 10 billion," Baksaas said.
"The established Asian operations confirmed the recovery in this region with a positive trend in financial performance this quarter. In India, we are pleased to see that the roll-out activities continued at high speed. Network quality is already high in the circles where we have launched, and 180,000 points of sale and around 2,500 employees are in place to support Uninor's development in the market. In this initial phase, we are experiencing some challenges. To secure healthy pick-up of quality subscribers, we are continuously working on developing the distribution system," Baksaas said.
"As a result of recovery in Asia and improved performance in the Nordic region, we expect a slightly stronger EBITDA margin for 2010 compared to our previous outlook. In addition, we revise our expected capex to sales ratio slightly downwards, following the development in Uninor and lower overall investments during the first quarter," Baksaas ends.
The table below contains key figures for the first quarter of 2010, compared to the previous year:
For more information please refer to the quarterly report on https://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q1-2010
Scott Engebrigtsen, Communication Manager, Telenor Group, Tel: +47 90043484, E-mail: scott.engebrigtsen@telenor.com
Press and analyst conference
In connection with the publication of the financial results, a press and analyst conference will be held on Wednesday 5 May 2010 at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium A, Telenor Expo Visitors' Centre, at the Telenor Headquarters at Fornebu outside Oslo. President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Richard Olav Aa will present the results. All presentations will be given in English.
Internet and mobile broadcast
The press and analyst conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will be made available on https://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q1-2010. During the live transmission, written questions may be submitted via the Internet. The conference will also be available live, and in a recorded version, on mobile phones with 3G, GPRS or EDGE. For more details please refer to https://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q1-2010.
Conference call and Q&A
The press and analyst conference will also be available as a conference call. This service also allows participants to ask questions at a concluding Q&A session, which will be held immediately after the presentation and a brief Q&A session in the auditorium. Please register well in advance on (+47) 800 80 119 (from Norway) or (+47) 23 18 45 01 (from Norway or abroad).
Materials
English language versions of the full quarterly report and all presentations used during the press and analyst conference will be made available https://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q1-2010 at 07:00 and 08:45 hrs Norwegian time/CET, respectively.
VimpelCom Ltd. - a milestone
"The successful completion of the VimpelCom Ltd. transaction was a milestone for the Telenor Group. The VimpelCom Ltd. share started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on 22 April 2010 and the market value of Telenor Group's 39.6 per cent economic stake in the company was approximately NOK 55 billion after the first day of trading. VimpelCom Ltd.'s strong operations, combined with a significantly improved governance structure, are a good foundation for future value creation," Baksaas said.
Strong performance in Nordic region
"Our operations in the Nordic region continued their strong performance, driven by positive development in the mobile businesses. During the last year, we saw increased demand for user-friendly smartphones, boosting mobile data usage and revenues. While executing the planned upgrades of mobile networks in all Nordic markets we expect to maintain annual operating cash flow at around NOK 10 billion," Baksaas said.
Recovery in Asia
"The established Asian operations confirmed the recovery in this region with a positive trend in financial performance this quarter. In India, we are pleased to see that the roll-out activities continued at high speed. Network quality is already high in the circles where we have launched, and 180,000 points of sale and around 2,500 employees are in place to support Uninor's development in the market. In this initial phase, we are experiencing some challenges. To secure healthy pick-up of quality subscribers, we are continuously working on developing the distribution system," Baksaas said.
Revised outlook
"As a result of recovery in Asia and improved performance in the Nordic region, we expect a slightly stronger EBITDA margin for 2010 compared to our previous outlook. In addition, we revise our expected capex to sales ratio slightly downwards, following the development in Uninor and lower overall investments during the first quarter," Baksaas ends.
Key figures
The table below contains key figures for the first quarter of 2010, compared to the previous year:
First quarter | Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (NOK in millions except earnings per share) | 2010 | 2009 | 2009 | |
| Revenues | 23 952 | 24 614 | 97 650 | |
| EBITDA before other income and expenses | 7 173 | 7 900 | 31 122 | |
| EBITDA margin before other income and expenses (%) | 29.9 | 32.1 | 31.9 | |
| Adjusted operating profit | 3 115 | 4 053 | 15 805 | |
| Adjusted operating profit/Revenues (%) | 13.0 | 16.5 | 16.2 | |
| Profit after taxes and non-controlling interests 1 | 1 038 | 1 622 | 8 653 | |
| Earnings per share from total operations, basic, in NOK | 0.63 | 0.98 | 5.22 | |
| Capex | 2 467 | 2 996 | 16 107 | |
| Capex excl. licences and spectrum | 2 467 | 2 996 | 16 107 | |
| Capex excl. licences and spectrum/Revenues (%) | 10.3 | 12.2 | 16.5 | |
| Operating cash flow 2 | 4 705 | 4 904 | 15 015 | |
| Net interest-bearing liabilities | 21 252 | 39 874 | 26 332 | |
1 Until 31 December 2009, âProfit after taxes and non-controlling interests' included actual figures for Kyivstar and estimated results for OJSC VimpelCom. As of the first quarter 2010, figures for OJSC VimpelCom and Kyivstar will be included with a one quarter lag. Please refer to the section âAssociated companies' under Group Overview on page 8 in the quarterly report for further details.
2 Operating cash flow is defined as EBITDA before other income and expenses - Capex, excluding licenses and spectrum.
For more information please refer to the quarterly report on https://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q1-2010
Contact:
Scott Engebrigtsen, Communication Manager, Telenor Group, Tel: +47 90043484, E-mail: scott.engebrigtsen@telenor.com
To the editorial offices:
Press and analyst conference
In connection with the publication of the financial results, a press and analyst conference will be held on Wednesday 5 May 2010 at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium A, Telenor Expo Visitors' Centre, at the Telenor Headquarters at Fornebu outside Oslo. President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Richard Olav Aa will present the results. All presentations will be given in English.
Internet and mobile broadcast
The press and analyst conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will be made available on https://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q1-2010. During the live transmission, written questions may be submitted via the Internet. The conference will also be available live, and in a recorded version, on mobile phones with 3G, GPRS or EDGE. For more details please refer to https://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q1-2010.
Conference call and Q&A
The press and analyst conference will also be available as a conference call. This service also allows participants to ask questions at a concluding Q&A session, which will be held immediately after the presentation and a brief Q&A session in the auditorium. Please register well in advance on (+47) 800 80 119 (from Norway) or (+47) 23 18 45 01 (from Norway or abroad).
Materials
English language versions of the full quarterly report and all presentations used during the press and analyst conference will be made available https://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q1-2010 at 07:00 and 08:45 hrs Norwegian time/CET, respectively.