Telenor Group delivers very strong results in the second quarter of 2025,
triggering a raised EBITDA outlook for both the Nordics and Group. At the same
time the company solidifies its position in the Nordic fibre market with a NOK
1.4 billion multi-year investment in Finland and the recently announced NOK 6
billion acquisition of GlobalConnect's consumer business in Norway.
Second-quarter highlights:
o Service revenues of NOK 16.5 billion.
o Adjusted EBITDA of NOK 9.3 billion.
o Free cash flow before M&A of NOK 1.6 billion.
During the second quarter, Telenor delivered year-over-year organic growth of
2.9 per cent in service revenues and 8.3 per cent growth in EBITDA. The main
driver for the strong performance was Telenor Nordics, with 12.5 per cent
organic growth in adjusted EBITDA.
"I am very pleased with our Nordic performance this quarter, which is the result
of our employees' hard work and dedication to deliver the best and most secure
network to our customers, as well as attractive add-on services. Based on the
strong performance in the first half, we have raised our EBITDA growth outlook
for 2025," says CEO Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer.
For the first half of 2025, Telenor Group delivered adjusted EBITDA of NOK 18.0
billion and a free cash flow before M&A of NOK 4.6 billion.
Norway takes the lead this quarter
In the Nordics, Telenor delivered 3.7 per cent organic growth in service
revenues in the quarter.
"The performance in the Nordics was excellent this quarter. Our strategy to
deliver more value for money with superior coverage, security products and cloud
storage, continues to positively impact performance in all markets," says
Fasmer.
Telenor Norway exceeded expectations, delivering growth in service revenues of
3.7 per cent and an adjusted EBITDA increase of 16.1 per cent. In addition to
service revenue growth in Norway, revenues from the national roaming agreement
with Lyse Tele (ice) contributed positively. In June, Hydro signed an eight-year
agreement with Telenor for the delivery of mobile network as a service, covering
both indoor and outdoor mobile coverage, for six aluminum plants in Norway.
Telenor will provide mobile coverage, in addition to other bespoke services such
as Secure Cloud Connect and IoT subscriptions.
Telenor Pakistan delivered yet another quarter with strong service revenue
growth of 15.0 per cent, while Grameenphone showed good execution, both
commercially and in terms of cost efficiency despite the continued challenging
market situation in Bangladesh.
Significant investments in fibre
Today Telenor announced the plan to upgrade DNA's market-leading fixed broadband
infrastructure to become an all-fibre network for housing association customers
in Finland by 2028. The investment of around NOK 1.4 billion (EUR 120 million)
will be part of Telenor's capex over the next three years.
Last week Telenor announced the acquisition of GlobalConnect's consumer business
in Norway in a transaction valued at NOK 6.0 billion. The GlobalConnect
acquisition includes fibre infrastructure as well as approximately 140,000 fibre
customers.
"These two important investments will strengthen Telenor's foundation as a
leading digital infrastructure provider in the Nordic, offering world-class
speedy and secure connections to our customers," says Fasmer.
These transactions will create synergies with existing operations and build
long-term, robust scale and better customer experiences across the telecom
market.
Financial outlook for 2025:
o Low single-digit organic growth in Nordic service revenues.
o High-single-digit organic growth in adjusted EBITDA in the Nordics (increased
from mid-single-digit).
o For the Nordic business, capex excl. leases are expected to account for around
14 per cent of revenues.
o Mid-single-digit organic growth in the Group's EBITDA (increased from
low-to-mid-single-digit).
o Free cash flow before M&A of around NOK 13 billion.
For further information, please contact:
Thomas Midteide, Chief Communications Officer, mobile +47 96 23 20 17
Frank Maaø, SVP Capital Markets and Investor Relations, mobile +47 91 67 40 45