Telenor Group CEO Sigve Brekke (pictured) highlighted progress towards reshaping the business in Q4 2022, including the completion of a merger in Malaysia, an agreement to sell a stake in its Norway fibre business and decommissioning its copper network in the same market.
In the company’s earnings statement Brekke noted significant progress towards its 2025 strategic roadmap, which includes a new structure for the business and a push on digital technologies.
Alongside completion of the merger of its business in Malaysia with Axiata Group’s local unit, Brekke noted the operator was making “good progress” towards finalising a delayed tie-up for its unit in Thailand.
Net income was NOK37.9 billion ($3.8 billion), of which NOK32.9 billion was a result of the Malaysia deal. This compared with a NOK587 million profit in Q4 2021.
Revenue was broadly flat at NOK25.4 billion.
In the Nordics, Telenor noted a 5 per cent rise in mobile service revenue, a statistic Brekke believes demonstrated “growth potential in the region”.
However, the company also noted increased energy costs in the region across the whole year, alongside recognising costs associated with the decommissioning of its copper network in Norway.
Although striking a deal to sell a minority stake in its Norway fibre business in Q4, the move was not completed until yesterday (1 February). The company made NOK10.8 billion from the transaction and intends to use part of the proceeds for share buy-backs.
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