Operator Tele2 shrugged off the impact of regulatory changes made throughout Europe during 2017 to register gains in profitability and revenue in Q3 as well as the opening nine months of 2017.

President and CEO Allison Kirkby (pictured) noted Q3 2017 was the first true measure of Tele2’s ability to deal with changes including an EU-mandated end to roaming charges in the economic bloc and new Dutch consumer credit regulations. She cited growth in overall mobile end-user service revenue as a sign the company rose to the challenges, and highlighted strong uptake in new mobile packages during the quarter.

Kirkby said Tele2 strengthened its credentials as a challenger brand in Sweden (its domestic market) and the Baltics following year-on-year increases in mobile service revenue in those markets during Q3 2017. The company’s operations in the Netherlands, Kazakhstan and Croatia “all delivered high growth levels” and “further acceleration towards cash flow breakeven”.

“I am extremely proud that as a company we are increasingly able to combine a relentless focus on driving strong business momentum”, Kirkby stated, adding the company believes the best way to create value for its shareholders is by enabling consumers to “live a more connected life”.

Financials
The CEO was left bullish after Tele2 overturned a net loss of SEK2.2 billion ($278.9 million) in Q3 2016 with a profit of SEK512 million in the recent period. Mobile end-user revenue increased 9 per cent year-on-year to SEK3.9 billion, which contributed to a 13 per cent annual rise in net sales to SEK7.5 billion.

Figures for the nine months to end-September showed similar trends: an SEK2.01 billion net loss in the 2016 period was turned into a profit of SEK1.15 billion in 2017; end-user service revenue of SEK11.5 billion was up 15 per cent; and net sales rose 19 per cent to SEK22.8 billion.

Tele2 upgraded its guidance for full year EBITDA from between SEK6.2 billion and SEK6.5 billion to a range of SEK6.4 billion to SEK6.6 billion; and cut its net sales forecast to between SEK30 billion and SEK31 billion (from SEK31 billion to SEK32 billion previously predicted).