OREANDA-NEWS.

Key Figures Telenor Group

(NOK in millions) Q1 2016 Q1 2015* 2015
Revenues 33 013 31 446 128 175
Organic revenue growth (%) 1.5 7.3 4.7
EBITDA before other income/ expenses 11 685 10 795 44 197
EBITDA margin before other income/expenses (%) 35.4 34.3 34.5
Profit after taxes and non-controlling interests 4 256 3 852 3 414
Capex excl. licences and spectrum/Revenues (%) 16.8 14.8 18.4
Mobile subscriptions – Change in quarter/Total (million) 5.4 5.9 203

*Re-presented

Highlights FOR Q1 2016

Telenor reported first-quarter revenues of NOK 33 billion. Mobile subscription and traffic revenue growth remained healthy during the quarter at 6%, while total revenues, were impacted by lower handset sales and declining revenues from fixed legacy products. The EBITDA margin improved one percentage point to 35%. Adjusted for one-time effects, operating profit was NOK 6.4 billion, while profit after taxes and non-controlling interests was NOK 3.6 billion.

In the quarter, 5.4 million new mobile subscribers were added, of which 2.2 million in Pakistan, 1.8 million in Myanmar and 1.5 million in India. The total customer base now stands at 208 million and about 40% are active internet users.

In Myanmar, Telenor further improved its market position and the cash flow was positive after seven quarters of operations. Grameenphone in Bangladesh had a solid performance, with an EBITDA and revenue growth of 12% and 9% respectively. In Pakistan, the positive revenue momentum continued and total revenues increased by 9%.

In Norway, subscription and traffic revenues continued to grow, while total revenues dropped as a result of lower fixed revenues, as well as a decline in interconnect rates and handset sales. The EBITDA margin remained strong during the quarter. Through today’s launch of new tariffs, Telenor Norway will give customers improved value and predictability, through increased data speeds, new data buckets and the removal of roaming charges within the entire EU. In Sweden, we plan to further increase our fibre investments amid rising demand. We currently serve around 1.5 million households and aim to expand our fibre offering to an additional 500,000 homes by 2020.

Fierce competition in our Thai and Malaysian markets continued in the first quarter. Digi reported solid postpaid subscriber growth from stronger data network and new price plans. In Thailand dtac’s EBITDA margin widened by one percentage point due to lower handset subsidies. The network expansion programme continued, with 4,700 new sites rolled out during the quarter.

Going forward, Telenor’s key priority will continue to be securing profitable growth and cost efficiency.

Based on the first quarter performance, the financial guidance for 2016 remains unchanged. We expect an organic revenue growth in the range of 2% to 4% and an EBITDA margin of 33% to 34%. The capex to sales ratio is expected to be 17% to 19%.