Veon recorded annual revenue growth of almost 10 per cent in Q2, as the company continued to see success with an ongoing push around digital services across its entire group.

The self-styled digital operator was buoyed by a year-on-year revenue increase of 9.2 per cent to $2 billion on growth in Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh, all bolstered by improved local currency. EBITDA increased 8.7 per cent to $879 million.

Net income declined 27.1 per cent to $127 million, mainly due to non-operating gains recorded in Q2 2020, including a revaluation of an acquisition of Warid in Pakistan in 2016 and a settlement regarding a dispute over the sale of Telecel.

In an earnings statement, CEO Kaan Terzioglu (pictured) noted the underlying operational execution of its digital operator model was “gaining further traction across the group”, while an ongoing focus on 4G customers remained “a key driver of this performance”.

He explained 4G customers accounted for 43 per cent of its total base, which increased by 26 million to 93 million, a feat which helped to deliver better services and overall performance as it continues to build out the digital operator model across its markets.

Sticking with its digital operator activities, Veon stated mobile data revenue increased by 19 per cent, while its JazzCash mobile money platform closed the quarter with 13 million monthly active users (MAUs), a 61 per cent increase.

In Russia, Beeline TV had 3 million MAUs, a 24 per cent increase.

Its 4G build translated to $505 million in operational capex, while group net debt was up 4.2 per cent to $8.5 billion.