Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke since the end of last year has been merging Telenor mobile operators in Malaysia and Thailand with competitors. Now restructuring in Pakistan is about to happen.
– We plan to make a decision in the next six months on our operations in Pakistan, Brik tells DN.
Telenor currently has 46.6 million mobile customers in the country. Pakistan is different from other Asian countries in which Telenor is present.
– We are studying alternatives. Everything from mergers to sales, CEO Sigve Brekke says of the company’s mobile operations in Pakistan. (Photo: Andre Leon)
Pakistan’s inflation rate is around 30 percent. The country has a currency that is weakening with each passing day. At the same time, energy prices are increasing. This is very difficult for the country and its inhabitants, but also for us. So we must have a solution. We are studying alternatives. Everything from merger to sale. Breki says we’re in discussion with several players about the company’s mobile operations in Pakistan.
– Are you in talks with China Telecom, which has mobile operations in Pakistan?
– I do not want to comment on who we are talking about, but if there is a merger, then naturally we will talk about the mobile players that are in the country, says Bricky.
Telenor’s mobile operations in Pakistan reached ₹1.1 billion in the second quarter and achieved an operating profit of ₹274 million.
– We are satisfied with the result in Pakistan, says Breki.
On Thursday, Brick provided group numbers for the second quarter. The semi-government telecom group with mobile operations in Asia and the Nordics achieved sales of NOK 20.2 billion and an operating result before depreciation and write-down (EBITDA) of NOK 8.5 billion.
— In the second quarter, we continue to execute on the strategy we laid out last year, with strong operational progress. The quality of our services and good security solutions continue to drive growth, says Sigve Brekke, CEO of Telenor.
Analysts previously expected average second-quarter turnover of NOK 19.7 billion and EBITDA of NOK 8.4 billion, analyst estimates.
Telenor’s share price rose nearly 7 percent Thursday afternoon.
Telenor’s CEO confirms that Asia has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Countries were locked down and tourists disappeared during the pandemic. I am very pleased that our business in Asia is back on track so well after such a long period of disaster. The demand for digital services is increasing.
Determines the exchange rate of the kroner
CFO Tone Hegland Bachke notes that Telenor posted four percent growth in the second quarter.
– In the first half of the year, we invested just NOK five billion in the Nordic countries, the vast majority of which took place in Norway, says Telenor CFO Tone Hegland Bachke. (Photo: Andre Leon)
“We’re executing a strategy of profitable growth in the Nordics, better cash flow in the group, and getting more synergies in Asia from our mobile mergers in Thailand and Malaysia,” Patch says.
At the end of last year, the mobile merger between Celcom and Telenor’s mobile operator Digi in Malaysia, in which Telenor owns a 30 percent stake, was completed.
– So far this year, we have received ₹ 570 million in profits from operating our built-in mobile locker in Malaysia.
Will Malaysia’s profits exceed one billion this year?
– I won’t be specific about that.
On March 1, Telenor announced that a mobile merger between the company’s Thai subsidiary, Dtac, and its competitor True, was in the works. The combined mobile operator has 55 million mobile customers, five million broadband customers and 3.2 million television subscribers. Telenor owns 30 percent of the company.
– In Thailand, we saved a lot on the procurement side after the merger through the global procurement company in Singapore.
In the first half of the year, Telenor used 18 percent of operating income on investments.
– In the second half of the year, investments are expected to account for 16 percent of income, says Bachke.
Telenor notes a decrease in the krone exchange rate. The company currently has a lot of debt in euros, dollars and Swedish krona.
– says Bachke, the decline in the exchange rate of the Norwegian krone weighs on our accounts by about half a billion kroner.
He keeps 70 percent
Telenor’s Norwegian director Birgit Ingebritsen is now completing the phasing out of copper operations for Telenor customers.
“Despite uncertain times with rising interest rates and increasing rates, we deliver a solid result in line with our expectations,” says Birgit Ingebritsen, Telenor’s Norwegian CEO. (Photo: Andre Leon)
– We managed to keep almost 70 percent of turnover with new solutions, says Engebretsen.
Telenor’s Norwegian operations are still very profitable. In the second quarter, Telenor Norge generated sales of NOK 6.3 billion and had an EBITDA of NOK 3 billion. At the end of the quarter, the company had 2,675,000 mobile customers. There are 5,000 fewer at the end of March and 58,000 fewer than at the same time last year.
– It’s a flat development, but we’re winning many large corporate clients who place a high importance on security, coverage and quality. All health institutions have now entered into an agreement with us, says Ingebritsen.
She is more interested in customers who use new services.
Our services income increased four percent in the first quarter. Customers buy more security services. We have a three percent core cost reduction, which gives a core EBITDA growth of seven percent.
– You’re about to lose 143,000 mobile customers when Fjordkraft moves its customer base to the Telia network. How much does Telenor lose from that?
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