VEON Q1 revenue falls 1% to $2 bln due to devaluation in some states

MOSCOW, May 14 (PRIME) -- Total revenue of Amsterdam-based VEON, the sole owner of Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, decreased 1.4% on the year to U.S. $2.25 billion in January–March, mainly due to significant devaluation of the Uzbek and Pakistani currencies, VEON said on Monday in a report.

Total revenue grew organically 3.2%, driven by Russia, Pakistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, partially offset by continued pressure in Algeria and Bangladesh.

Reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) decreased 0.8% to $854 million, primarily due to the devaluation of the Uzbek and Pakistani currencies, as well as Russian retailer Euroset integration costs.

EBITDA grew 6.3% organically, driven by good operational performance in Russia, Pakistan and Ukraine, partially offset by declining EBITDA in Algeria and Bangladesh.

The EBITDA margin added 0.2 percentage points to 38%.

Equity free cash flow excluding licenses totaled $334 million in January–March.

“The first quarter of 2018 saw VEON deliver good organic performance across its core markets. I am especially pleased to see a normalization in EBITDA performance in our largest market, Russia, following a more difficult fourth quarter,” Chief Financial Officer Trond Westlie said.

“The company’s performance in Algeria and Bangladesh remains under pressure, but there is an indication that our turnaround plans for these market share on track and are likely to show operational improvements towards the back end of the financial year. We have invested so that we now offer 4G/LTE in every one of our markets and we are on track to deliver on our 2018 outlook.”

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