Fourth quarter and preliminary results for 2008: Delivering a solid quarter
Fornebu
7 minute read
"For the full year 2008, the Telenor Group delivered good organic revenue growth and upheld the market positions, in spite of challenging macro economic conditions," said President and CEO of Telenor, Jon Fredrik Baksaas.
Continued growth and strong margins
"The overall trends seen in the third quarter continued into the fourth quarter with stable organic revenue growth combined with strong margins in several operations, particularly in Serbia and Bangladesh as well as a rebound in Pakistan. During the quarter, our operations added 5.5 million mobile subscriptions, reaching a total of 164 million," Baksaas said.
Global economic slowdown
"The capex level in the quarter was high, mainly due to completion of major projects and network roll-out in Asia, as well as investments in the Nordic region related to successful market uptake of mobile broadband. The telecom sector has so far been less affected by the global economic slowdown than other industries, however we expect a more challenging business environment going forward. As a result, the focus in 2009 will be on cost efficiency and capex control," Baksaas said.
Closer to corporate governance in Kyivstar
"I am pleased to see that the recent ruling in a federal court in New York has brought us several steps closer to obtaining predictable and healthy corporate governance on a permanent basis in Kyivstar. We have received dividend payments for 2004 and 2005 and we are working towards further dividend payments for the following years," Baksaas said.
Key figures
The table below contains pro forma key figures (including Kyivstar) for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2008, compared to the previous year:
For more information please refer to the quarterly report on https://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q4-2008.
Funding of India investment
"We have decided that the investment in Unitech Wireless in India will be financed through a combination of cash generated from operations and additional debt. Telenor has decided to propose no payment of dividend to shareholders for 2008. It is further the intention of the Board that no dividend will be proposed for 2009. This underlines the need for strong focus on cash flow in operations," Baksaas said.
Contact:
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 11 February 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 Trond Westlie 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/q4-2008. 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/q4-2008.
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 00 04 00 (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/q4-2008. at 07:00 and 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET, respectively.
"The overall trends seen in the third quarter continued into the fourth quarter with stable organic revenue growth combined with strong margins in several operations, particularly in Serbia and Bangladesh as well as a rebound in Pakistan. During the quarter, our operations added 5.5 million mobile subscriptions, reaching a total of 164 million," Baksaas said.
Global economic slowdown
"The capex level in the quarter was high, mainly due to completion of major projects and network roll-out in Asia, as well as investments in the Nordic region related to successful market uptake of mobile broadband. The telecom sector has so far been less affected by the global economic slowdown than other industries, however we expect a more challenging business environment going forward. As a result, the focus in 2009 will be on cost efficiency and capex control," Baksaas said.
Closer to corporate governance in Kyivstar
"I am pleased to see that the recent ruling in a federal court in New York has brought us several steps closer to obtaining predictable and healthy corporate governance on a permanent basis in Kyivstar. We have received dividend payments for 2004 and 2005 and we are working towards further dividend payments for the following years," Baksaas said.
Key figures
The table below contains pro forma key figures (including Kyivstar) for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2008, compared to the previous year:
| Fourth quarter | Full year | |||
| (NOK in millions except earnings per share) | 2008 | 2007 | 2008 | 2007 |
| Revenues | 29 925 | 26 914 | 111 015 | 105 021 |
| EBITDA before other income and expenses | 9 925 | 8 831 | 38 505 | 36 358 |
| EBITDA margin before other income and expenses (%) | 33.2 | 32.8 | 34.7 | 34.6 |
| Adjusted operating profit | 5 429 | 4 768 | 22 638 | 20,642 |
| Adjusted operating profit/Revenues (%) | 18.1 | 17.7 | 20.4 | 19.7 |
| Profit after taxes and non-controlling interests | 2 205 | 5 869 | 13 307 | 18 016 |
| Earnings per share from total operations, basic, in NOK | 1.33 | 3.49 | 7.97 | 10.72 |
| Capex | 7 223 | 7 084 | 22 699 | 22 079 |
| Capex excl. licences and spectrum | 6 738 | 6 672 | 20 664 | 21 635 |
| Investments in businesses | 169 | 447 | 1 866 | 6 041 |
| Net interest-bearing liabilities | 39 289 | 36 464 | ||
For more information please refer to the quarterly report on https://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q4-2008.
Funding of India investment
"We have decided that the investment in Unitech Wireless in India will be financed through a combination of cash generated from operations and additional debt. Telenor has decided to propose no payment of dividend to shareholders for 2008. It is further the intention of the Board that no dividend will be proposed for 2009. This underlines the need for strong focus on cash flow in operations," Baksaas said.
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 11 February 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 Trond Westlie 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/q4-2008. 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/q4-2008.
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 00 04 00 (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/q4-2008. at 07:00 and 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET, respectively.