“I’m pleased to see Telenor continuing to deliver organic EBITDA growth, while revenues were stable in the first quarter. Highlights were the strong data consumption in emerging Asia and the solid fibre momentum in Norway as well as Sweden. It has been a busy quarter, as we have introduced new and improved mobile offers in several markets, with encouraging customer reception. In Thailand and Malaysia, this supported double-digit postpaid growth, and we are actively working to mitigate the continued intense competition in the prepaid market,’’ says Sigve Brekke, CEO of Telenor Group.
Published: 4 May 2017
“As previously communicated, simplification and efficiency improvements are on top of our agenda. Our announcement to exit India, the continued sell-down in VEON and the launch of our cluster organisation are all examples of these efforts. Together with the company-wide initiatives to improve profitability, we believe that we are laying a solid foundation for Telenor’s future,” says Brekke.
Key figures Telenor Group
| (NOK in millions) | Q1 2017 | Q1 2016 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | 30,458 | 31,494 | 125,395 |
| Organic revenue growth (%) | 0.2 | 1.3 | 0.8 |
| EBITDA before other income and other expenses | 11,462 | 11,629 | 45,966 |
| EBITDA before other income and other expenses/Revenues (%) | 37.6 | 36.9 | 36.7 |
| Profit after taxes and non-controlling interests | 4,168 | 4,256 | 2,832 |
| Capex excl. licences and spectrum/Revenues (%) | 14.9 | 16.3 | 17.4 |
| Capex/Revenues (%) | 14.9 | 16.4 | 20.2 |
| Mobile subscriptions – Change in quarter/Total (mill.) | 2.1 | 3.8 | 170 |
First quarter 2017 summary
- Total revenues decreased by 3% to NOK 30.5 billion, while organic revenues remained at par with last year. Mobile subscription & traffic revenues increased by 1% on an organic basis.
- EBITDA before other items decreased by 1% to NOK 11.5 billion, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 38%, an increase of 1 percentage point from last year.
- Organic EBITDA increased by 3%. Adjusted for a one-time positive effect from Telenor Broadcast during the first quarter of 2016, the organic EBITDA growth was 5% year-on-year.
- Capital expenditure excluding licences and spectrum was NOK 4.5 billion, resulting in a capex to sales ratio of 15%.
- Free cash flow for the quarter was NOK 2.2 billion.
Financial outlook for 2017
The financial outlook for 2017 has been adjusted to reflect the new Group structure with India presented as discontinued operations. Telenor expects an organic revenue growth in the range of 1% to 2% and an EBITDA margin of around 37%. The capex to sales ratio excluding licences is expected to be 15 % to 16%.
Email Newsletters
Sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos, plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox.
