Second quarter 2013: Improved growth and profitability

(Fornebu - 23 July 2013) In the second quarter of 2013, Telenor Group reported revenues of NOK 25.7 billion, representing an organic revenue growth of 2%. EBITDA before other items was NOK 8.86 billion, EBITDA margin was 34%, and operating cash flow was NOK 5.37 billion. "Telenor's geographical footprint covers both advanced and growing economies, offering growth opportunities and profitability as demonstrated in the second quarter...

(Fornebu - 23 July 2013) In the second quarter of 2013, Telenor Group reported revenues of NOK 25.7 billion, representing an organic revenue growth of 2%. EBITDA before other items was NOK 8.86 billion, EBITDA margin was 34%, and operating cash flow was NOK 5.37 billion.

"Telenor's geographical footprint covers both advanced and growing economies, offering growth opportunities and profitability as demonstrated in the second quarter. At the same time, regulatory issues remain a challenge, particularly visible in Bangladesh and India during this period,'' said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group.

Outlook maintained

"The Group's organic revenue growth improved from the first quarter combined with stronger margins. With these trends, we maintain the outlook for this year,'' said Baksaas.

 

More than five million new customers

"During the second quarter, Telenor gained more than five million new customers driven by strong growth in Asia. In Thailand, dtac's network investments and high customer uptake is resulting in solid revenue growth as our customers embrace new services enabled through 3G. In Norway and Sweden, we saw subscription growth picking up in the consumer segment as a result of new data centric offerings,'' said Baksaas.

 

Myanmar and Bulgaria

"Telenor was recently declared a successful applicant for a telecommunications licence in Myanmar, and we are currently awaiting the telecom law and final licence conditions from the local authorities. Our acquisition of Bulgaria's second largest telecom operator Globul has been approved by the EU Commission, and I am looking forward to welcoming our new colleagues in a region well known to Telenor,'' added Baksaas.

 

New buyback programme

"Telenor's operational performance and strong financial position enables healthy shareholder remuneration. I am pleased to announce that we are initiating another share buyback programme for approximately 1 percent of the outstanding shares, to be completed before the AGM in 2014," said Baksaas.

Key figures
The table below contains key figures for the second quarter of 2013, compared to the previous year.

	2Q	2Q	Year
(NOK in millions except earnings per share)	2013	2012 (Restated)	2012 (Restated)
Revenues	25 747	25 357	101 718
EBITDA before other income and expenses	8 857	8 064	32 848
EBITDA margin before other income and expenses (%)	34.4	31.8	32.3
Adjusted operating profit[1]	5 466	4 508	18 446
Adjusted operating profit/Revenues (%)	21.2	17.8	18.1
Profit after taxes and non-controlling interests	3 249	2 067	8 809
Earnings per share from total operations, basic, in NOK	2.13	1.31	5.63
Capex	3 484	2 959	21 511
Capex excl. licences and spectrum	3 484	2 904	12 299
Capex excl. licences and spectrum/Revenues (%)	13.5	11.5	12.1
Operating cash flow  [2]	5 374	5 159	20 549
Net interest-bearing liabilities [3]	-	-	33 082

 

For more information please refer to the quarterly report at http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2013/telenors-results-for-the-2nd-quarter-2013/

Contact:
Meera Bhatia, Communications Manager, Tel: +4746844959, E-mail: [email protected]

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 Tuesday 23 July 2013 at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium Voice, 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 http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2013/telenors-results-for-the-2nd-quarter-2013/. 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 - for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +472440 from abroad.

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)23184545, and state your name and company to an automatic voicemail followed by # (pound sign). For the Q&A session: to queue up for questions please press *1.

Materials
English language versions of the full quarterly report and all presentations used during the press and analyst conference will be made available at http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2013/telenors-results-for-the-2nd-quarter-2013/

 

*Organic revenue is defined as revenue adjusted for the effects of acquisition and disposal of operations and currency effects.

[1]Adjusted operating profit is defined as Operating profit less other income and expenses and impairment losses.

[2]Operating cash flow is defined as EBITDA before other income and expenses - Capex, excluding licences and spectrum

[3]Net interest-bearing liabilities is defined as interest-bearing debt excluding net present value of licence liabilities.

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