VimpelCom’s owner VEON revenue falls 5.7% to $2.3 bln in Jul–Sep

MOSCOW, Nov 8 (PRIME) -- Total revenue of Amsterdam-based VEON, the sole owner of Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, decreased 5.7% on the year to U.S. $2.317 billion in July–September, VEON reported on Thursday in a statement.

Mobile and fixed service revenue declined 8.8% to $2.151 billion, while mobile data revenue increased 13.7% to $548 million.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) shrank 18.7% to $848 million. EBITDA margin lost 5.9 percentage points to 36.6%.

The profit for the period attributable to VEON shareholders increased to $561 million from $134 million in the same period of 2017.

Capital expenditures excluding licenses decreased 21.8% to $311 million. The net debt narrowed 34.4% to $5.736 billion.

In January–September, total revenue shrank 4.4% on the year to $6.837 billion. Mobile and fixed service revenue decreased 6.5% to $6.443 billion, and mobile data revenue increased 13.5% to $1.569 billion.

EBITDA lost 9.7% to $2.559 billion, and EBITDA margin went down 2.2 percentage points to 37.4%.

The company reported a net profit for the period attributable to VEON shareholders at $329 million as compared to a net loss of $135 million for the same period of 2017. Capital expenditures excluding licenses increased 7.5% to $1.068 million.

Total mobile customers gained 0.1% to 211 million, and total fixed-line broadband customers rose 5.5% to 3.7 million.

“The first nine months of 2018 have seen good progress toward our financial targets and strategic goals. We enter October–December with a stronger balance sheet, a leaner operating model and a clear ambition to realize efficiencies across our business whilst befitting from the growth opportunities of our emerging markets. Progress to data means we now expect 2018 results to come in toward the high end of the guidance for most of our targets we set out at the start of the year,” Chief Financial Officer Trond Westlie said.

The 2018 revenue and EBITDA guidance was updated to reflect good progress year-to-date toward 2018 financial targets: VEON now expects low-single digit organic revenue growth, formerly flat to low, and low to mid-single digit organic EBITDA, formerly flat to low, in 2018 as a whole. 

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