VEON posted Q2 revenue of $2,417 million (+12.3 percent), EBITDA of $931 million (+17.1 percent) with 38.5 percent margin and net loss of $278 million against net profit of $122 million.
Capex of VEON was $644 million (+84.5 percent). Capex including licenses grew 84.5 percent to $644 million in Q2 2017 primarily due to the purchase of spectrum in Pakistan during the auction. Without licenses, Capex of VEON rose 17.2 percent. The ratio of Capex (excluding licenses) to revenue was 18.4 percent in Q2 2017.
VEON said revenue growth of 12.3 percent was driven by currency appreciation and the impact of the Warid transaction with effect from 1 July 2016. VEON achieved strong revenue growth in Russia, Pakistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
EBIT increased to $389 million, due to EBITDA growth, partially offset by higher amortization driven by the revision of useful life of the Mobilink and Warid brands, following the introduction of the Jazz brand in Pakistan.
The net loss was mainly driven by an increase in financial income and expenses due to the Warid debt consolidation and currency appreciation against the US dollar; net FX losses of $53 million as well as early redemption premiums on bond repurchases of $124 million.
Mobile data revenue of VEON increased 30.5 percent and mobile customers rose 6.9 percent to 208 million at the end of Q2 2017, primarily driven by the inclusion of Warid’s customer base in Pakistan and by further organic customer growth in Pakistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
VEON CEO Jean-Yves Charlier said: “We observed revenue growth in our core markets of Russia, Pakistan and Ukraine, which saw strong demand for our mobile data services.”
“VEON’s transformation journey to becoming a digital services provider also saw significant progress with the launch of the VEON personal internet platform across five of our major markets. We have withdrawn from the Euroset joint venture in Russia to focus on expanding our monobrand strategy,” Jean-Yves Charlier said.
