Telenor reveals 3G, 4G and fibre Capex in 2016

Telenor Group has revealed its capital expenditure (Capex) during Q4 2016 and 2016 – saying the primary focus of the investment was on 3G and 4G networks and fibre.

Telenor said its capital expenditure excluding licenses and spectrum was NOK 6.9 billion, resulting in a Capex to sales ratio of 21 percent.

Organic EBITDA growth driven by increased contribution from Bangladesh, Malaysia, Myanmar and India.

Telenor India revenue fell 1.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2016 despite the free offers from Reliance Jio Infocomm.

“Telenor continued to grow revenues and delivered a record high EBITDA. We made significant progress on network deployment during the year, supporting our customers’ increasing data usage,” said Sigve Brekke, chief executive officer of Telenor Group.

Organic revenue growth was 1 percent to NOK 33.1 billion, while EBITDA was stabled to NOK 10.8 billion in Q4 — primarily driven by the increasing data consumption in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Telenor achieved gains from the fibre investment in Norway and Sweden.

Cost efficiency is a key driver for value creation, and I’m pleased to see that effects from our efficiency initiatives are starting to come through.

Mobile subscription and traffic revenues increased by 1 percent.

EBITDA before other items was negatively impacted by a provision of NOK 0.3 billion related to a decision by the Swedish Tax Agency regarding VAT treatment for 2013 and 2014.

Telenor expects an organic revenue growth in the range of 1 percent to 2 percent and EBITDA margin of around 36 percent in 2017. The Capex to sales ratio excluding licenses is expected to be 15 percent to 16 percent.