Telenor safeguards customers and delivers solid results

30 Oct 2024 07:00 CET

Telenor Group delivers good results in the third quarter. More customers value
Telenor’s security products – and in total Telenor gained close to 60 000 new
mobile customers in the Nordics in the quarter.

Third quarter highlights:
• Service revenues of NOK 16.2 billion, organic growth of 2.1 per cent from the
same period last year
• EBITDA before other items of NOK 9.2 billion in the quarter
• Free cash flow before M&A of NOK 2.8 billion in the quarter
• Stopped 510 million digital crime attempts against customers

So far this year, Telenor Group has delivered an EBITDA before other items of
NOK 26.5 billion, and free cash flow before M&A of NOK 8.3 billion.

- We continue to safeguard our customers while also enhancing their digital
lives. At the same time, we are creating value for both our owners and society.
I am equally pleased with this now as I have been during more than 20 years in
Telenor, says CEO Sigve Brekke, who today presents Telenor's results for the
last time.

Standing firm in the Nordic region

Telenor Nordic delivered 3.2 percent growth in service revenues in the quarter,
while organic EBITDA growth ended at 4.6 percent.

- We offer customers more value for money, with new products and add-on
services, and this has been successful. In Norway, more and more customers
appreciate our Safe products, securing customers’ online safety and protecting
them against new forms of digital fraud. In total, we gained close to 60 000 new
mobile customers in the Nordics in the quarter, which also gives positive
revenue effects, says Sigve Brekke.

- We are also fighting tough competition in the corporate market and landed a
contract with Aker BP and Aker Solutions in the quarter that gives us 6 000 new
subscribers, he adds.

Unrest in Bangladesh, progress in Pakistan and Thailand
Due to the turmoil in Bangladesh, service revenues in Telenor Asia decreased
with 1.2 percent in the quarter. The organic EBITDA result decreased with 3.0
percent.

Bangladesh has been through a quarter of social and political unrest, which has
also caused a setback for the country's economy and the telecom sector. Telenor
was forced to close the mobile data network for a couple of weeks.

- We see some early signs of pick-up in the economic activity in Bangladesh, but
it will take time before the situation is normalised. Apart from this, a lot of
positive things are happening in Asia. I am impressed to see our business in
Pakistan back to solid EBITDA growth despite challenging macro conditions. In
Thailand, True is being rewarded for many good strategic choices during the last
year, while CelcomDigi in Malaysia continues to generate solid dividends, says
Sigve Brekke.

Peak Fraud season

In the third quarter, Telenor stopped 510 million attempts at digital crime in
Norway alone. Of this, Telenor's security filters account for more than 483
million blocks. In addition, Telenor stopped 11.6 million fraud attempts via
calls, and 15.6 million via SMS, respectively. The attacks usually happen
through well-known scam sites, newly created websites or phishing attempts.

- Criminals are constantly developing new methods to attack businesses and
people. Many attacks start with phishing attempts, where they try to trick us
into clicking on links or giving away personal information. We are now entering
a peak season for this type of fraud, in connection with Black Week and
Christmas shopping, and expect to see an increase in fraud attempts related to
online shopping and deliveries, says Brekke.

Financial outlook for 2024:
•3-4% organic growth in Nordic service revenues (changed from low-to-mid
single-digit organic growth).
•Around 6% organic growth in EBITDA in the Nordics (changed from
mid-single-digit organic growth).
•For the Nordic business, capex excl. leases are expected to account for
slightly less than 17% of revenues (changed from around 17%).
•3-4% organic growth in the Group's EBITDA (changed from mid-single-digit
growth).
•Free cash flow of NOK 9.5-10.0 billion before M&A and potential items related
to prior years’ activities (changed from NOK 9-10 billion).


Media contact:
SVP Communications: Thomas Midteide +47 96 23 20 17

Investor relations:
SVP Capital Markets and Investor Relations: Frank Maaø +47 91 67 40 45

More information:
Access the news on Oslo Bors NewsWeb site

630676_Report Q3 2024.pdf
630676_Presentation Q3 2024.pdf