Telecom operator Telenor revealed increased revenue, net profit and capital spending (capex) in 2022.
Telenor reports revenue of SEK 25.42 billion (+1.5%) in Q4 2022 and SEK 98.953 billion (+2.8%) in 2022.
Telenor’s capex, excluding spectrum/licensing, amounted to SEK 4,637 million in the fourth quarter and SEK 16,728 million for the full year.
Fiber investment in Norway and network investment in Thailand.
Telenor’s fourth quarter capex was NOK 1,317 million in Norway, NEK 941 million in Sweden, NEK 277 million in Denmark, NEK 438 million in Finland and NEK 617 million in Thailand DTAC It reached NOK 499 million at Grameenphone in Bangladesh and NOK 100 million in Pakistan.
In Finland, network modernization programs and 5G rollouts were the main drivers of capex. By the end of the year, the 5G network reached his 80% population coverage in Finland.
In Sweden, high fourth-quarter capex was primarily affected by timing effects related to mobile network modernization, including the rollout of 5G.
In Denmark, capital spending remained high in the fourth quarter, mainly related to the ongoing 5G rollout.
In Norway, capital investment was driven by fiber deployment and mobile network modernization. The capital expenditure to sales ratio for the full year was 23%.
Capital expenditures, excluding licenses and spectrum fees, were NOK 4.6 billion, representing 18.2% of capital expenditures to sales in the fourth quarter and 16.9% for the full year. Telenor is targeting capital spending to reach his 17% turnover in 2023.
Telenor’s mobile network had 158.3 million customers in 2022, compared to 161.9 million in 2021.
Telenor completes merger in Malaysia, establishing CelcomDigi as the market leader. Telenor has sold its 30% stake in its Norwegian fiber business. Telenor has completed the decommissioning of its Norwegian copper network.
Sigve Brekke, President and CEO of Telenor Group, said in the earnings call:
Telenor said Opex increased by NOK 600 million or 8%. For the full year, Opex increased by NOK 1.5 billion or 5%.
Higher energy costs impacted EBITDA by NOK 300 million in the fourth quarter and NOK 1 billion for the full year. The increase had a 3 percentage point impact on his EBITDA for both the fourth quarter and the full year.
