Telenor reports fourth quarter 2021 results

02 Feb 2022 07:00 CET

Several years of modernisation and digitalisation initiatives enabled Telenor to
deliver solid operational results for 2021, despite impact from the ongoing
pandemic. For the full year the company delivers stable subscription and traffic
revenues and EBITDA. The strong free cash flow of NOK 13 billion supports the
proposed dividend of NOK 9.30 per share resulting in a yield of around 6
percent.

“During the year, Telenor has focused on safeguarding employees and providing
services to customers as the demand for connectivity, digitalisation and data
has increased during the year, all while ensuring the robustness of the critical
infrastructure we provide. Modernising our operations remain a top priority, and
structural initiatives have resulted in NOK 1.2 billion in savings during the
year. More importantly, these efforts have enabled us to provide great customer
experience and a position to partner with Google and AWS to explore new services
beyond connectivity”, says Sigve Brekke, President and CEO of Telenor Group.

In the Nordics, the company delivers yet another good quarter. In Norway the
strategy of providing value to customers with services on top of a world class
network is yielding results, with a mobile ARPU growth of 3 percent. With the
copper decommissioning reaching its peak, the growth in non-legacy services were
not able to fully compensate for the legacy decline. The demand for services and
increased data speed drove the ARPU growth of 3 percent in Finland and 6 percent
in Denmark. In Sweden, the revitalised go-to market strategy resulted in stable
subscription and traffic revenues and strong mobile subscriber growth in the
quarter.

In Asia, pressure on the top line remains due to intense competition and impact
from the pandemic, in particular in Thailand. Through 2021, Telenor has
progressed on the strategy to build strong positions across markets. In the
fourth quarter, the company announced yet another merger in Asia. With this
transaction, Telenor aims to combine dtac and True in Thailand and create the
leading telecom operator in the country.

Based on the solid financial position, strong free cash flow generation and a
leverage ratio of 2.05x, the Board of Directors propose a dividend of NOK 9.30
per share, in line with the dividend policy. The dividend represents a 3 percent
increase from last year.

“Entering 2022, will maintain focus on returning to growth, the opportunities
we see from also going beyond connectivity, creating leading operators through
partnerships in Asia and further developing our infrastructure position in the
Nordics. For the full year 2022 and excluding Digi in Malaysia, we expect low
single digit growth in service revenues, EBITDA around 2021 level or slightly
higher and capex to sales ratio of 16-17 percent.”, says Brekke.

Investor relations
Øystein Myrvold, +47 99230460
Håkon Hatlevik, +47 90146070

Media contact
David Fidjeland, +47 93467224

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552421_Telenor Group Q4 2021 Report.pdf
552421_Telenor Group Q4 2021 Presentation.pdf