
28 Feb 2022
VEON reports 4Q & FY 2021 results Beating revenue & EBITDA guidance and posting USD 801 million net profit
Amsterdam (28 February 2022) - VEON Ltd. (VEON) announces results for the fourth quarter and full year ended 31 December 2021:
VEON reports FY 2021 results with full-year revenue of USD 7,788 million 10.1% YoY in local currency ( 6.8% YoY reported currency) and EBITDA of USD 3,332 million 8.9% YoY in local currency ( 5.7% YoY reported currency). Full-year capex of USD 1,826 million was in line with 2020, with lower capex intensity (23.4%) as revenues expanded. Group Net Debt/EBITDA was 2.44x.
Kaan Terzio lu commented on 4Q & FY 2021 results:
I am encouraged by the progress we made this past year in a number of important growth areas such as our digital operator metrics including 4G subscribers, penetration of digital services, data revenues as well as achieving balanced growth across all our geographies, including Russia.
FY 2021 results highlights:
Revenue USD 7,788 million, 10.1% YoY in local currency ( 6.8% YoY reported currency)
EBITDA USD 3,332 million, 8.9% YoY in local currency ( 5.7% YoY reported currency)
Net income of USD 801 million
Capex of USD 1,826 million, 1.8% YoY, capex intensity of 23.4%
Equity Free Cash Flow (after licenses) USD 334 million, up 41.9% YoY
Total cash USD 2.3 billion (additional undrawn committed credit lines of USD 1.5 billion)
Beeline Russia closed 2021 strongly, showing healthy growth following increased 4G investment and we believe is now well positioned to deliver further improvement in revenue and EBITDA. In 4Q21, service revenue accelerated with growth of 6.6% YoY (local currency) and Beeline Russia reported 49.4 million mobile subscribers and 25.5 million 4G subscribers ( 12.8% YoY).
Good financial discipline saw Group EBITDA in 4Q21 increase by 9.5% YoY in local currency and 10.6% YoY in reported currency. This solid result was driven by double digit local currency EBITDA performance across five countries with Russia posting a strong quarter with YoY EBITDA growth of 4.3% in local currency. While EBITDA grew YoY in absolute terms, a slight margin dilution of 0.4 p.p. was reported, as handset sales grew. Over the next three years, project Optimum is expected to deliver cumulative margin expansion of approximately 300 basis points.
Strong 2021 full year equity free cash flow (after licenses) of USD 334 million up 41.9% YoY. We reported Group net debt of USD 8.1 billion (of which lease liabilities were USD 2.7 billion) at the end of 4Q21 and closed the year with total cash and undrawn committed credit lines of USD 3.7 billion. At the end of 4Q21 our net debt/EBITDA ratio was 2.44x. While within our comfort zone, this ratio is above the limit of 2.4x set by our dividend policy. Moving forward we aim to further deleverage the company and build sustainable dividend capacity for the future. Given current circumstances we are not providing specific guidance for 2022.
We successfully closed the Russia tower transaction, with the sale of our Russian tower assets to ServiceTelecom for RUB 70.65 bn. We have established separate tower companies in both Ukraine and Pakistan and we expect to announce further tower transactions in the coming year.
Strong progress on expanding our digital assets. JazzCash closed the quarter with 15.2 million monthly active users ( 24.9% YoY), Toffee TV in Bangladesh with 6.4 million monthly active users, up from 2.5 million a year ago; and Beeline TV in Russia with 3.1 million monthly active users ( 11.8% YoY).
We further strengthened the management team with the appointment of Victor Biryukov as VEON Group General Counsel and Mohammad Khairil Abdullah as CEO for VEON Ventures who will both be members of the Group Executive Committee. Andrey Pyatakhin was appointed as CEO for Beeline Kyrgyzstan. With the appointment of Karen Linehan to the VEON Group board on 5th January 2022 as a non-executive director we expanded board diversity while bringing a wealth of experience and a valuable perspective to our Audit & Risk and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees.
VEON announced its intention to move its group parent company to the United Kingdom. The change of the place of incorporation of the top holding company, would place the company in a jurisdiction with high standards of corporate governance and a strong and transparent legal framework and is expected to enable VEON and its operating subsidiaries to operate more effectively across its markets.
Key recent developments:
On 1 December 2021, VEON announced the successful conclusion of the sale of its Russian tower assets to Service-Telecom for RUB 70.65 billion.
On 18 December 2021, VEON announced the appointment of Andrey Pyatakhin as CEO of Beeline Kyrgyzstan.
On 18 December 2021, VEON announced the appointment of Victor Biryukov as VEON Group General Counsel.
On 24 December 2021, VEON announced the successful conclusion of two bilateral loan facilities of RUB 45 billion each with Sberbank and Alfa Bank.
On 29 December 2021, VEON announced the appointment of Mohammad Khairil Abdullah as CEO of VEON Ventures, effective 1 March 2022.
On 5 January 2022, VEON announced the appointment of Karen Linehan to the VEON Group board as a non-executive director.
On 3 February 2022, VEON announced its intention to establish new parent holding company in the UK.
In 4Q21, Kaan Terzioglu, our Group Chief Executive Officer and Erik Aas, the Chief Executive Officer of Banglalink, each purchased 200,000, and 50,000 of our ADR/ORDs, respectively.
On 17 February 2022, VEON announced the successful conclusion of a seven years term facility of RUB 30 billion with VTB.
Additional information
View the full 4Q21 and FY21 results
View 4Q21 and FY21 results presentation
View 4Q21 and FY21 factbook
About Veon
VEON is a NASDAQ and Euronext Amsterda
More from VimpelCom
18/06/2025
18 Jun 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Advances Direct-to-Cell Services With Starlink ...
17/06/2025
17 Jun 2025
Omiyinka Doris Chooses to Step Aside from VEON General Counsel Position Dubai, June 17, 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON; the Company or VEON ), a ...
17/06/2025
17 Jun 2025
VEON Appoints Vitaly Shmakov as Acting General Counsel Dubai, June 17, 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON or the Co...
17/06/2025
17 Jun 2025
Kyivstar and Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine sign Coo...
16/06/2025
16 Jun 2025
VEON Announces USD 35 Million Share Buyback Announcement marks the third phase of USD 100 million share buyback program
Dubai, June 16, 2025: VEON...
05/06/2025
05 Jun 2025
VEON Progresses in Kyivstar Group's Nasdaq Listing with the Pub...
05/06/2025
05 Jun 2025
Kyivstar Group Reports First Quarter 2025 Financial Results in Conj...
03/06/2025
03 Jun 2025
VEON and Engro Corporation Complete Pioneering Infrastructure Partn...
03/06/2025
03 Jun 2025
Empowering Kazakh Students: VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan introduce...
23/05/2025
23 May 2025
VEON and Engro Corporation Advance to Closing Pioneering Infrastruc...
20/05/2025
20 May 2025
Beeline Uzbekistan Moves its Headquarters to Tashkent's IT Park...
15/05/2025
15 May 2025
VEON 1Q25 Earnings Release: Strong Start to 2025, Digital Revenues ...
12/05/2025
12 May 2025
VEON Joins GSMA Advance's People Excellence Partner Program as ...
08/05/2025
08 May 2025
VEON Shareholders Re-elect Board at 2025 AGM, Founder Augie Fabela ...
07/05/2025
07 May 2025
VEON's QazCode Signs MoU with Seekr to Develop AI-Powered Solut...
02/05/2025
02 May 2025
VEON to release 1Q25 trading update on May 15, 2025 Dubai, May 2, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator, today confirms that t...
25/04/2025
25 Apr 2025
VEON Files its 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F Dubai, April 25, 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON' or the Compa...
14/04/2025
14 Apr 2025
VEON Publishes 2024 Integrated Annual Report Detailing Commitment t...
08/04/2025
08 Apr 2025
VEON Completes Reorganization Ahead of Kyivstar's Planned Nasdaq Listing Dubai, April 8, 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital opera...
31/03/2025
31 Mar 2025
VEON Announces 2025 AGM and Board Nominees Notice of the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of VEON Ltd.
Dubai, March 31, 2025 - VEON Ltd...
27/03/2025
27 Mar 2025
VEON Returns to Capital Markets with Successful Syndication of USD ...
26/03/2025
26 Mar 2025
VEON Appoints Anand Ramachandran as Corporate Development Officer Dubai, March 26, 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON...
21/03/2025
21 Mar 2025
VEON and Airspan Sign MoU to Collaborate on Air-to-Land Network Sol...
20/03/2025
20 Mar 2025
VEON FY24 and 4Q24 Trading Update: Strong Delivery in 2024, Digital...
20/03/2025
20 Mar 2025
VEON to Proceed with USD 35 Million Share Buyback Announcement marks second phase of USD 100 million share buyback program announced on August 1, 2...
20/03/2025
20 Mar 2025
VEON Discloses Selected Key Financial Metrics About Uklon Kyiv and Dubai, March 20, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator, tod...
19/03/2025
19 Mar 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Expands Digital Portfolio with Acquisition of U...
18/03/2025
18 Mar 2025
VEON Moves Forward with Kyivstar's Landmark Nasdaq Listing; Sig...
17/03/2025
17 Mar 2025
VEON appoints Johan Buse as the Incoming CEO of Banglalink Dubai and Dhaka, 17 March 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VE...
12/03/2025
12 Mar 2025
VEON to release 4Q 2024 trading update on 20 March 2025 Dubai, 12 March 2025 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator, today confirms ...
06/03/2025
06 Mar 2025
Mobilink Bank Wins GLOMO Award for Invisible Heirs Campaign Barcelona and Islamabad, March 06, 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital ope...
05/03/2025
05 Mar 2025
VEON's Jazz to Deploy 1,000 Solar Sites across Pakistan in coll...
04/03/2025
04 Mar 2025
VEON's Beeline Uzbekistan to Deploy Predictive AI for Enhanced ...
26/02/2025
26 Feb 2025
VEON Highlights Role of Investments in Rebuilding Ukraine, Renews ...
14/02/2025
14 Feb 2025
VEON's Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation Raise USD 2....
12/02/2025
12 Feb 2025
VEON's JazzCash and Mobilink Bank Shortlisted for Prestigious GLOMO Awards Dubai and Islamabad, February 12 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a g...
30/01/2025
30 Jan 2025
VEON Gets Unanimous Support from Noteholders Voting in Consent Soli...
16/01/2025
16 Jan 2025
VEON Appoints New Members to the Group Executive Committee Dubai, 16 January 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON or t...
13/01/2025
13 Jan 2025
VEON to List Kyivstar on Nasdaq in New York, Signs Letter of Intent...
09/01/2025
09 Jan 2025
VEON appoints Burak Ozer as Group Chief Financial Officer Dubai, 9 January 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON or the...
30/12/2024
30 Dec 2024
In a Groundbreaking Agreement, VEON and Starlink to Bring Starlink ...
19/12/2024
19 Dec 2024
VEON Completes the Move of its Headquarters to Dubai Dubai, 19 December 2024: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON or the G...
13/12/2024
13 Dec 2024
VEON discloses its unaudited interim condensed consolidated financi...
12/12/2024
12 Dec 2024
Kyivstar and Jazz Secure Double Win for VEON at The World Communica...
11/12/2024
11 Dec 2024
Kazakh Language Gets its National LLM with a Groundbreaking Partner...
09/12/2024
09 Dec 2024
VEON Approves Launch of the Initial USD 30 Million Phase of its Sha...
05/12/2024
05 Dec 2024
VEON and Engro Corp Announce Strategic Partnership for Telecommunic...
03/12/2024
03 Dec 2024
In an Open Letter to VEON Investors, VEON Group CEO Welcomes the Un...
02/12/2024
02 Dec 2024
VEON's Kyivstar Launches GenAI Lab with Amazon Web Services (AW...
29/11/2024
29 Nov 2024
VEON Welcomes Unfreezing of its Corporate Rights in Kyivstar, Suppo...