Telenor Group reports solid third-quarter results
Fornebu
6 minute read
“We report solid third-quarter results with 4% organic revenue growth and 6% organic EBITDA growth. More than five million new customers connected to Telenor, and I am pleased to see that almost 200 million people are using our services. We witness strong growth in data consumption across our markets. Going forward, it is of utmost importance that we monetise this growth in order to secure healthy returns on our significant investments,’’ said Sigve Brekke, Telenor Group President and CEO.
Key Figures Telenor Group
| (NOK in millions) | Q3 2015 | Q3 2014 | YTD 2015 | YTD 2014 |
| Revenues | 31 836 | 27 685 | 94 688 | 81 003 |
| Organic revenue growth (%) | 4.5 | 5.7 | ||
| EBITDA before other income/ expenses | 11 848 | 10 263 | 33 338 | 29 178 |
| EBITDA margin before other income/expenses (%) | 37.2 | 37.1 | 35.2 | 36.0 |
| Profit after taxes and non-controlling interests | (1 770) | 2 586 | 5 539 | 8 581 |
| Capex excl. licences and spectrum/Revenues (%) | 17.9 | 14.1 | 18.0 | 14.3 |
| Mobile subcriptions – Change in quarter/Total (million) | 5.2 | 3.4 | 196 | 179 |
Highlights for the third quarter 2015
Telenor reported third-quarter revenues of NOK 31.8 billion and organic revenue growth of 4%. EBITDA before other items was NOK 11.8 billion and the EBITDA margin remained stable at 37%. Adjusted for VimpelCom impairment, net income was NOK 3.6 billion.
The guidance for the full year is organic revenue growth of around 5% and an EBITDA margin of 34%-35%. The adjusted outlook is primarily a consequence of the inclusion of the Danish operation.
In Norway, strong mobile market performance continued driven by increasing data demand. Mobile subscription and traffic revenues rose 5%. With annual investments of more than NOK 4 billion, we will continue to provide our customers with superior network experience.
Intense competition impacted performance in Thailand, Malaysia and Denmark. We are continuing our turnaround process in Thailand. Profitability in Malaysia was affected by currency headwinds and price pressure. Our planned merger with TeliaSonera in Denmark was withdrawn and we are now reviewing our strategic options in Denmark.
In Myanmar, the solid momentum continued. After a year of building network coverage in cities and larger towns, Telenor is now continuing its expansion into rural townships and villages.
There are promising growth trends visible in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sweden and Hungary. Subscriber growth significantly increased both in Pakistan and Bangladesh, while the operations in Sweden and Hungary reported improved subscription and traffic revenue growth.
On 5 October, we announced our intention to divest all our shares in VimpelCom Ltd. This triggered an impairment with effect of NOK 5.4 billion to the income statement in the third quarter.
On 27 October 2015, the Board of Directors of Telenor ASA resolved a second semi-annual dividend for the financial year 2014 of NOK 3.50 per share. This is in line with the earlier communicated intention of the Board of Directors. Including the NOK 3.80 per share paid out in June 2015, this brings the total dividends for the year to NOK 7.30 per share.
Media Contact:
Meera Bhatia, Tel: (+47) 4684 4959, E-mail: meera.bhatia@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 28 October at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation, which will also be broadcast live over the Internet, will be held in Auditorium Voice, Telenor Expo Visitor Centre at Fornebu near Oslo. CEO Sigve Brekke and CFO Richard Olav Aa will present the results. The presentation will be held in English.
Internet and mobile broadcast
The press and analysts conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and will also be available as a recording after the conference. In addition, the conference will be available live and as a recording on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or (+47) 2440 from abroad.
Conference call and Q&A
You may also call in and listen to the presentation over the phone. This service allows you to ask questions during the Q&A session at the end of the presentation. To participate in the conference call, please register before the conference starts by calling +47 23162787 and state the confirmation code: 7740603
Material
The quarterly report and the English version of the presentation will be made available here