04 Aug 2022VEON reports Q2 2022 results VEON reports Q2 2022 results
Strong operational results, improved profitability
Amsterdam, 4 August 2022 - VEON Ltd. (VEON) announces its results for the second quarter and half year ended 30 June 2022:
In 2Q22, VEON recorded USD 2,008 million in total revenues, representing 5.6% YoY growth in reported currency ( 6.0% YoY in local currency). EBITDA was USD 913 million, increasing by 13.0% YoY in reported currency ( 14.1% YoY in local currency). Capex of USD 382 million was 21.5% lower than in 2Q21, with a 3.5 p.p. decrease in capex intensity (21.5%). Total cash and cash equivalents were USD 2.3 billion, with USD 1.9 billion at the HQ level.
Commenting on results, Kaan Terzio lu said:
Our second quarter results demonstrate the resilience and the success of VEON Group companies, as our 4G focus and digital operator strategy continued to deliver growth despite unprecedented geopolitical challenges. This quarter, our 4G users reached 50% of our customer base, moving closer to our target of 70% 4G penetration. More subscribers, higher 4G penetration and more digital services together with inflationary pricing and good cost management are driving solid revenue and EBITDA performance across our countries.
We continue to focus on our core priorities of protecting our people and delivering the essential humanitarian services of communication and connectivity. Our liquidity position is strong, with USD 2.3 billion in cash at the end of 2Q22, of which USD 1.9 billion was held at HQ level.
2Q 2022 highlights:
Revenue of USD 2,008 million, 5.6% YoY ( 6.0% YoY in local currency)
Service revenue of 1,889 million, 7.1% YoY ( 7.5% YoY in local currency)
EBITDA of USD 913 million, 13.0% YoY ( 14.1% YoY in local currency)
Capex of USD 382 million, -21.5% YoY
Net income of USD 183 million, 43.5% YoY
Total cash and cash equivalents of USD 2.3 billion, with USD 1.9 billion at Headquarters
204 million mobile subscribers, up 2.7% YoY
102 million 4G users, up 19.2% YoY, with 50.0% penetration of customer base
For 2Q22, VEON reported growth in both reported and local currency revenue and EBITDA, with a 3 p.p. increase in EBITDA margin and Group cash and cash equivalents balance of USD 2.3 billion as of 30 June 2022.
Group revenues increased by 5.6% YoY in reported currency terms ( 6.0% in local currency). Growth in mobile data revenue, up 11.6% in reported currency terms ( 15.5% in local currency), was a key driver of the strong Group revenue performance. Non telecom related revenues in Russia, constituted 8.0% of total Group reported revenue.
We delivered balanced growth in the quarter as we expanded our customer base while increasing ARPU. We also continued to implement our policy of inflationary pricing to respond to higher inflation, which was observed across most of our markets, impacted in particular by both the availability and cost of utilities.
In Ukraine, Kyivstar's revenues decreased 2.0% YoY in reported currency ( 3.9% in local currency) as the team continued to deliver on keeping the country connected, with our radio network operating at 90% availability. Kyivstar's 4G customer base grew 11.9% YoY, and our customers consumed more data, with a growth in usage of 26.9% YoY.
Russia reported a 2Q22 revenues increase of 12.2% YoY in reported currency (-0.8% YoY in local currency). The strengthening of the Russian ruble against USD in 2Q22 supported the growth in reported financial performance. 2Q22 mobile service revenue was up 2.7% YoY in local currency, as demand for data was 20.9% higher YoY, driving mobile data revenue growth of 6.2% YoY in local currency.
Pakistan revenues decreased 12.1% YoY in reported currency ( 11.1% YoY in local currency), driven by strong growth in data revenue, despite the negative impact of the increase in withholding tax from 10% to 15% on 16 January 2022 and the reduction in mobile termination rates. Excluding the impact of the SIM tax reversal last year, revenue in Pakistan grew 13.7% YoY in local currency. The weakness in the Pakistani rupee negatively impacted reported growth rates.
In Kazakhstan, revenues increased 16.3% YoY in reported currency ( 20.2% in local currency), another quarter of strong growth as Beeline Kazakhstan continues to execute its digital operator strategy. This was the fifth consecutive quarter of local-currency revenue growth above 20%.
In Uzbekistan, revenues increased 18.7% YoY in reported currency ( 25.2% in local currency), a second consecutive quarter of local-currency revenue growth above 20%, supported by new digital operator offerings introduced in the previous quarter.
Group EBITDA grew by 13.0% YoY in 2Q22 in reported currency terms ( 14.1% in local currency). In Russia, EBITDA increased 26.7% YoY in reported currency ( 11.6% in local currency), marking the fifth consecutive quarter of growth. EBITDA in Pakistan declined 5.4% YoY in reported currency ( 19.8% YoY in local currency) and in Kazakhstan, EBITDA grew 23.0% in reported currency terms ( 26.9% in local currency). In Ukraine, EBITDA was down 10.2% in reported currency (-4.8% YoY in local currency) in 2Q22.
Group EBITDA was impacted by a number of extraordinary non-recurring items in 2Q22 and in 2Q21 as noted in the Country Performance section. Excluding all these extraordinary one-off items, Group EBITDA increased 10.7% YoY in local currency.
Group EBITDA margin increased by 3.0 percentage points YoY and reached 45.4% in 2Q22 as we remain focused on implementing planned cost-efficiency measures across the business.
In 2Q22, we reported healthy growth of 2.7% YoY in our subscriber base. The Group continued to focus on the overall customer experience in our 4G networks. This supported the 19.2% YoY increase in our 4G users, which reached 101.9 million, adding 16.4 million users over the previous 12 m
