New York, 20 November 2023 6:00AM
ET –
VEON Q3 2023 Highlights
- Revenue of USD 945 million, +6.1% YoY (+19.3% YoY in local
currency)
- Service revenue of USD 913 million, +6.9% YoY (+19.8% YoY in
local currency)
- EBITDA of USD 444 million, +17.0% YoY (+30.6% YoY in local
currency)
- Capex of USD 131 million, -29.8% YoY, with LTM capex intensity
of 17.8%
- Revenues generated by 4G and Multiplay users of USD 474
million, +15.4% YoY (+27.7% YoY in local currency)
- Total cash and cash equivalents of USD 2.2 billion, with USD
1.8 billion at HQ
- Gross debt at USD 4.3 billion (decreased by USD 7.1 billion
YoY), with net debt excluding lease liabilities at USD 1.3 billion
(decreased by USD 3.9 billion YoY)
- Net debt to EBITDA excluding leases is 0.86x in the current
quarter, a reduction from 3.3x from the third quarter of 2022
- 92 million 4G users, up 12.9% YoY, with 58.8% penetration of
customer base
- 101 million cumulative monthly active users across all digital
services and platforms as of 31 October 2023
VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam:
VEON), a global digital operator that provides converged
connectivity and online services, announces selected financial and
operating results for the third quarter and nine months ended
30 September 2023.
In 3Q23, total revenues reached USD 945 million,
an increase of 6.1% YoY in reported currency, (+19.3% YoY in local
currency). Service revenues amounted to USD 913 million, an
increase of 6.9% YoY in reported currency (+19.8% in local
currency), while EBITDA of USD 444 million represented a 17.0% YoY
increase in reported currency terms (+30.6% YoY in local currency).
Capex in 3Q23 was USD 131 million, a decline of 29.8% YoY, and
reported capex intensity for the last twelve months was 17.8%
(13.9% in the third quarter of 2023). Total cash and cash
equivalents as of 30 September 2023 amounted to USD 2.2 billion
with USD 1.8 billion held at the headquarters (“HQ”) level at the
end of the quarter. VEON has raised its full-year local currency
revenue growth guidance from 16-19% to 18-20%, its local currency
EBITDA growth guidance from 10-14% to 18-20%, and its LTM Capex
intensity guidance from 18-20% to 16-18%.
Commenting on the results, Kaan Terzioğlu said:
“In 3Q23, VEON delivered very strong organic growth as well as
solid reported currency growth in both revenue and EBITDA,
with our digital operator strategy helping to drive market share
and wallet share gains across all our operations.
VEON's digital operators are expanding their
value propositions by providing digital experiences in financial
services, entertainment, education and healthcare. At the end of
the third quarter, multiplay customers who benefit from our digital
services as well as 4G voice and data accounted for nearly 24% of
our subscriber base and 42% of our subscribers revenues in the B2C
segment. Beyond our connectivity base, we served nearly 30 million
digital-only users with our digital applications.
Following the completion of the sale of Russia
operations, financial discipline remains our top priority. We have
closed the quarter with a healthy balance sheet position. Net debt
excluding leases has reduced from USD 5.1 billion in 3Q22 to USD
1.3 billion in 3Q23, while our net debt excluding leases to EBITDA
ratio has declined from 3.3x in 3Q22 to 0.86x in 3Q23. Going
forward, we will continue to focus on further optimising our cost
structure and capital structure.”
Today, VEON also discloses unaudited interim
condensed consolidated financial statements as of and for the
three-month period ended 30 September 2023 and the nine-month
period ended 30 September 2023 for VEON Ltd. and its wholly-owned
subsidiary, VEON Holdings B.V.
Additional information
View the full 3Q23 trading update View 3Q23
trading update presentationView 3Q23 factbookView unaudited interim
condensed consolidated financial statements VEON Ltd. and VEON
Holdings B.V. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of VEON Ltd.) as of and
for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023
About VEON
VEON is a digital operator that provides
converged connectivity and digital services to nearly 160 million
customers. Operating across six countries that are home to
more than 7% of the world’s population, VEON is transforming lives
through technology-driven services that empower individuals and
drive economic growth. Headquartered in Amsterdam, VEON is listed
on NASDAQ and Euronext. For more information,
visit: https://www.veon.com.
Notice to readers: financial information
presented
VEON's results and other financial information
presented in this press release are, unless otherwise stated,
prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting
Standards ("IFRS") based on internal management reporting, are the
responsibility of management, and have not been externally audited,
reviewed, or verified. As such, you should not place undue reliance
on this information. This information may not be indicative of the
actual results for any future period.
On 24 November 2022, VEON Ltd. announced that
following a competitive process, it had entered into an agreement
to sell its Russian operations. Upon execution of the agreement,
the Russian business has been classified as `held for sale' and
`discontinued operations', and accounted for as such, in line with
the requirements of IFRS 5. The result is that the Russian
operations do not contribute to VEON's comparison base or actual
reported results in this press release (except with respect to net
debt excluding leases as of 3Q22), however, this classification has
no impact on balance sheet amounts in prior periods. On 9 October
2023, VEON Ltd. announced that it completed its exit from Russia
with the closing of the sale of its Russian operations to a group
of senior members of the PJSC VimpelCom management team.
Notice to readers: impact of the war in
Ukraine
The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and
the sanctions imposed by the United States, member states of the
European Union, the European Union itself, the United Kingdom,
Ukraine and certain other nations, counter-sanctions by Russia and
other legal and regulatory responses, as well as responses by our
service providers, partners, suppliers and other counterparties,
and the consequences of all of the foregoing have impacted and, if
the war, sanctions and such responses continue or escalate, may
significantly impact our results and aspects of our operations in
Ukraine, and may significantly affect our results and aspects of
our operations in the other countries in which we operate. We are
closely monitoring events in Russia and Ukraine, as well as the
possibility of the imposition of further sanctions in connection
with the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and any resulting
further rise in tensions between Russia and the United States, the
United Kingdom and/or the European Union.
Although we have completed our exit from Russia,
our operations in Ukraine continue to be affected by the war. We
are doing everything we can to protect the safety of our employees,
while continuing to ensure the uninterrupted operation of our
communications, financial and digital services.
Disclaimer
VEON's results and other financial information
presented in this press release are, unless otherwise stated,
prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting
Standards ("IFRS") and have not been externally reviewed and
audited. The financial information included in this press release
is preliminary and is based on a number of assumptions that are
subject to inherent uncertainties and subject to change. The
financial information presented herein is based on internal
management accounts, is the responsibility of management and is
subject to financial closing procedures which have not yet been
completed and has not been audited, reviewed or verified. Certain
amounts and percentages that appear in this press release have been
subject to rounding adjustments. As a result, certain numerical
figures shown as totals, including those in the tables, may not be
an exact arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede or
follow them. Although we believe the information to be reasonable,
actual results may vary from the information contained above and
such variations could be material. As such, you should not place
undue reliance on this information. This information may not be
indicative of the actual results for the current period or any
future period.
This press release contains “forward-looking
statements”, as the phrase is defined in Section 27A of the U.S.
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S.
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking
statements may be identified by words such as “may,” “might,”
“will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,”
“intend,” “seek,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,”
“continue,” “contemplate,” “possible” and other similar words.
Forward-looking statements include statements relating to, among
other things, VEON’s plans to implement its strategic priorities,
including operating model and development plans; anticipated
performance, including VEON’s ability to generate sufficient cash
flow; VEON’s assessment of the impact of the conflict surrounding
Russia and Ukraine, including related sanctions and
counter-sanctions, on its current and future operations and
financial condition; future market developments and trends;
operational and network development and network investment,
including expectations regarding the roll-out and benefits of
3G/4G/LTE networks, as applicable; spectrum acquisitions and
renewals; the effect of the acquisition of additional spectrum on
customer experience; VEON’s ability to realize the acquisition and
disposition of any of its businesses and assets and to execute its
strategic transactions in the timeframes anticipated, or at all;
VEON’s ability to realize financial improvements, including an
expected reduction of net pro-forma leverage ratio following the
successful completion of certain dispositions and acquisitions; our
dividends; and VEON’s ability to realize its targets and commercial
initiatives in its various countries of operation.
The forward-looking statements included in this
press release are based on management’s best assessment of VEON’s
strategic and financial position and of future market conditions,
trends and other potential developments. These discussions involve
risks and uncertainties. The actual outcome may differ materially
from these statements as a result of, among other things: further
escalation in the conflict surrounding Russia and Ukraine,
including further sanctions and counter-sanctions and any related
involuntary deconsolidation of our Ukrainian operations; demand for
and market acceptance of VEON’s products and services; our plans
regarding our dividend payments and policies, as well as our
ability to receive dividends, distributions, loans, transfers or
other payments or guarantees from our subsidiaries; continued
volatility in the economies in VEON’s markets; governmental
regulation of the telecommunications industries; general political
uncertainties in VEON’s markets; government investigations or other
regulatory actions; litigation or disputes with third parties or
regulatory authorities or other negative developments regarding
such parties; the impact of export controls and laws affecting
trade and investment on our and important third-party suppliers'
ability to procure goods, software or technology necessary for the
services we provide to our customers; risks associated with our
material weakness in internal control over financial reporting;
risks associated with data protection or cyber security, other
risks beyond the parties’ control or a failure to meet expectations
regarding various strategic priorities, the effect of foreign
currency fluctuations, increased competition in the markets in
which VEON operates and the effect of consumer taxes on the
purchasing activities of consumers of VEON’s services.
Certain other factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those discussed in any
forward-looking statements include the risk factors described in
VEON’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December
2022 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the
“SEC”) on 24 July 2023 and other public filings made from time to
time by VEON with the SEC. Other unknown or unpredictable factors
also could harm our future results. New risk factors and
uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for
our management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor
can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the
extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause
actual results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statements. Under no circumstances should the
inclusion of such forward-looking statements in this press release
be regarded as a representation or warranty by us or any other
person with respect to the achievement of results set out in such
statements or that the underlying assumptions used will in fact be
the case. Therefore, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date hereof. We cannot assure you that any
projected results or events will be achieved. Except to the extent
required by law, we disclaim any obligation to update or revise any
of these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which
the statements are made, or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
Furthermore, elements of this press release
contain or may contain, “inside information” as defined under the
Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
Contact Information
VEONInvestor RelationsFaisal
Ghoriir@veon.com
- 3Q23 TRADING UPDATE
- 3Q23 PRESENTATION
- Factbook3Q2023
- VEON Holdings Q3 2023
- VEON LTD 6-K Q3
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