Swedish operations accounted for 44% of Telia business
Swiss telecom operator Telia – formerly TeliaSonera – posted a net profit of 1.43 billion kronor ($166.4 million) in the second quarter of 2016, down 55.8% compared to a net profit of 3.25 billion kronor in the same period last year. Revenue declined 2% to 21.13 billion kronor from 21.55 billion kronor in Q2 2015.
The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization for the quarter reached 6.36 billion kronor, up 4.1% year-over-year. Total capital expenditures for Q2 totaled 3.77 billion kronor, climbing 2.2% vs. the same quarter last year. The telco said it expects capital expenditures for full 2016 to reach 14 billion kronor to 15 billion kronor.
In Sweden, Telia posted revenue of 9.26 billion kronor, almost flat year-over-year. Swedish operations accounted for 43.8% of the group’s overall revenue in Q2.
“In Sweden, service revenue growth stayed positive in the consumer segment, supported by our value-loading strategy in mobile, together with further progress in broadband and TV,” said Johan Dannelind, Telia president and CEO.
The telco ended June with 6.10 million subscribers in the mobile segment, down 1% year-on-year. Total capex in the Swedish market reached 1.72 billion kronor in Q2.
In Europe, Telia also operates in Norway, Finland, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Spain. Last month, the company announced it had divested its 76.6% holding in Spanish Yoigo to Spain telco Masmovil.
Telia generated revenue of 3.33 billion kronor in the Eurasia region in Q2, down 39.8% year-on-year. The telco said the decline in quarterly revenue was due to currency effects and the divestment of Ncell in Nepal.
“In region Eurasia the remaining operations were still impacted by high competition and negative currency effects but we see some early signs of market stabilization,” Dannelind said.
The largest markets for Telia in terms of subscribers in Eurasia are Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The company’s Eurasia business also includes operations in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Tajikistan. The group is being investigated by U.S. and Swedish authorities over a bribery scandal in Uzbekistan.
