Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2013 Report
Stockholm - Tele2 AB, (Tele2), (NASDAQ OMX Stockholm: TEL2 A and TEL2 B) today announced its consolidated results for the full year and fourth quarter 2013.
CEO comment:
“I see 2014 as a year when we remove uncertainty around Tele2. The Netherlands and Kazakhstan need to maintain their momentum within mobile. Tele2 Sweden will cement its position as the leader in mobile data services. The situation in Norway will be addressed in a way that maximizes value for shareholders.”
Financial highlights
Strong mobile end-user service revenue growth for the Group
In the quarter, mobile end-user service revenue grew by 5 percent amounting to SEK 3,724 (3,536) million. This trend was driven by positive usage of mobile data, compensating less revenue from mobile voice and SMS.
Improved operational performance in Tele2 Sweden
Mobile end-user service revenue in Sweden grew by 3 percent Q4 2013. The mobile EBITDA contribution in the quarter was SEK 722 (748) million, due to increased marketing spend and a shift from pay-as-you-go to bucket price plans.
Maintained strong customer intake within mobile for Tele2 Netherlands
Tele2 Netherlands continued its marketing push within the mobile segment, accelerating its customer intake to 62,000 (55,000) customers and taking the total mobile customer base to 694,000 (478,000). Mobile net sales amounted to SEK 447 (288) million and mobile end-user service revenue grew by 65 percent in Q4 2013.
License award disappointment for Tele2 in Norway
The network roll-out continued at a rapid pace, now covering approximately 75 percent of the population. Traffic on own infrastructure amounted to 43 percent in the quarter. Tele2 Norway did not obtain any frequencies in the multiband auction held in December. The company will continue its operations with existing frequency resources and maintain commercial efforts to further develop the business.
Robust revenue growth in Tele2 Kazakhstan and positive EBITDA in December
Tele2 Kazakhstan continued to work to improve its commission structure, leading to a gradually better result in the quarter. Still, the net effect on customer intake was negative, leading to an outflow of -393,000 (361,000) users. Mobile net sales grew by 24 percent in Q4 2013 amounting to SEK 365 (294) million. Mobile end-user service revenue grew by 33 percent. Thanks to improved operational scale and lower interconnect levels, EBITDA losses were reduced to SEK -7 (-83) million and the company had positive EBITDA for the first time in December.
The Board of Directors recommend a dividend for 2013 amounting to SEK 4.40
The Board of Tele2 AB has decided to recommend an ordinary dividend of SEK 4.40 (7.10) per share in respect of the financial year 2013.
The Interim report is available on www.tele2.com
Presentation Q4 2013 result
Tele2 will host a presentation with the possibility to join through a conference call, for the global financial community at 10:00 am CET (09:00 am GMT/04:00 am EST) on Friday, February 7, 2014. The presentation will be held in English and also made available as an audiocast on Tele2’s website: www.tele2.com.
Dial-in information:
To ensure that you are connected to the conference call, please dial in a few minutes before the start of the conference call to register your attendance.
Dial-in numbers:
Sweden: +46 8 505 564 74
UK: +44 203 364 5374
US: +1 855 753 2230
Contacts
Mats Granryd
President & CEO
Telephone: + 46 (0)8 5620 0060
Lars Nilsson
CFO
Telephone: +46 (0)8 5620 0060
Lars Torstensson
EVP, Group Corporate Communication
Telephone: + 46 (0)8 5620 0042
TELE2 IS ONE OF EUROPE'S FASTEST GROWING TELECOM OPERATORS, ALWAYS PROVIDING CUSTOMERS WITH WHAT THEY NEED FOR LESS. We have 15 million customers in 10 countries. Tele2 offers mobile services, fixed broadband and fixed telephony, data network services, cable TV and content services. Ever since Jan Stenbeck founded the company in 1993, it has been a tough challenger to the former government monopolies and other established providers. Tele2 has been listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm since 1996. In 2013, we had net sales of SEK 30 billion and reported an operating profit (EBITDA) of SEK 6 billion.