Telenor: Solid strategy execution

Today, Telenor reports its results for the first quarter of 2023.

"I'm pleased to see that we have been able to demonstrate solid execution across all four business areas", says Sigve Brekke, President and CEO of Telenor Group.

"Telenor supports the rapid digitalisation of the Nordic societies through investing in 5G networks and services. The underlying mobile service revenue growth was 5 percent, and the fixed business is turning positive after completion of the copper decommissioning. This is a strong testimony to the growth potential in the region, and I am proud to say that we are, perhaps, the world's first legacy-free incumbent. Going forward, we will continue with our Nordic modernisation agenda to drive profitable growth.", Brekke adds.

Key Figures Telenor Group

	First quarter		Year
NOK in million	2023	2022	2022
Service revenues	14 851	14 500	59 760
Organic service revenue growth (%)	3%	1%	3%
Total Revenues	19 187	18 431	76 877
Organic revenue growth (%)	4%	2%	4%
Operating expenses	(6 441)	(6 143)	(25 229)
EBITDA before other income and other expenses	8 078	8 048	33 830
Organic EBITDA growth (%)	2%	-2%	1%
Operating profit	3 834	5 393	15 143
Net income from associated companies and joint	(191)	(104)	(301)
Net income attributable to equity holders of Telenor	18 146	6 570	44 913
Capex excl. lease	3 535	2 916	13 560
Free cash flow before M&A	431	2 434	9 866
Total Free cash flow	5 666	3 589	10 604
Leverage	2.1	1.9	2.2

• Service revenues were NOK 14.9 billion, which is an increase of NOK 0.4 billion or 2 percent compared to the same period last year. On an organic basis, service revenues increased by 3 percent.
• Reported opex increased by NOK 0.3 billion. Organic opex increased by NOK 0.3 billion or 4 percent.
• Reported EBITDA before other items was NOK 8.1 billion and was stable on reported basis but increased by 2 percent on an organic basis. Excluding the impact of a contractual dispute in Denmark, organic EBITDA before other items increased by 3 percent.
• Net income attributable to equity holders of Telenor ASA was NOK 18.1 billion for the quarter. A gain of NOK 18.5 billion was recognised upon closure of the merger between dtac and True Corporation in Thailand.
• With the completion of merger between dtac and True in Thailand on 1 March 2023 and the merger between Digi and Celcom in Malaysia on 30 November 2022, dtac and Digi as subsidiaries are de-consolidated and the historical income statement figures are reclassified to discontinued operations, see note 4 in the quarterly report. Telenor's share of net income of the merged entities is recognised with a one quarter lag. Accordingly, results of CelcomDigi are recognised this quarter for December 2022, and True Corp's results for the month of March 2023 will be recongnised in the second quarter.
• Total free cash flow was NOK 5.7 billion for the quarter, including positive contribution from M&A activities of NOK 5.3 billion mainly related to the partial sale of the fibre infrastructure company in Norway, partly offset by the merger transaction in Thailand and India guarantee payment. Free cash flow before M&A activities was NOK 0.4 billion.
• The leverage ratio at the end of the quarter was 2.1x, which is a decrease of 0.1x compared to the end of the previous quarter.

Telenor maintains the financial outlook for 2023:

• Low to mid-single digit growth in Nordic service revenues
• Low to mid-single digit growth in Nordic EBITDA
• Nordic capex/sales of around 17 percent

Media contact:

David Fidjeland | Director Media Relations, Telenor Group
[phone] | [e-mail]