VEON posted revenue of $2.27 billion (–6.1 percent), service revenue of $2.136 billion (–8.4 percent) and EBITDA of $857 million (–8 percent) with EBITDA margin of 37.7 in Q2 2018.

VEON, a global telecom operator with considerable in presence in Asia, posted revenue of $1,174 million (–1.9 percent) from Russia, $363 million (–5.9 percent) from Pakistan, $199 million (–13.8 percent) from Algeria, $131 million (–11.6 percent) from Bangladesh, $173 million (+12 percent) from Ukraine and $79 million (–48 percent) from Uzbekistan in Q2.

“We took decisive action to sharpen VEON’s focus on the emerging markets and streamline our headquarters operations, while maintaining robust compliance and internal controls and continuing our focus on our digital core offerings,” VEON Executive Chairman Ursula Burns said.

VEON said its revenue grew organically by 3 percent, driven by Russia, Pakistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, partially offset by continued pressure in Algeria and Bangladesh.

VEON said the second quarter revenue trend was powered by 11 percent growth in mobile data revenue. Mobile customers rose 0.9 percent to 210 million in Q2 2018, driven by growth in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ukraine.

Capex

Capex is Russia excluding licenses increased 69 percent, mainly due to accelerated network roll out and the integration of Euroset stores. Beeline invested in network development to boost data network infrastructure.

Capex in Pakistan fell to PKR 6.7 billion, supporting 4G network expansion. VEON offered 3G in 368 cities while 4G/LTE was offered in over 117 cities. 3G population coverage was 52 percent, while4G networks was 32.5 percent in Pakistan.

Capex in Algeria was DZD 3.3 billion. VEON said its 4G / LTE services covered 28 wilayas and more than 25.4 percent of Algeria population. 3G network covered all 48 wilayas and more than 75.6 percent of population.

Capex in Bangladesh increased to BDT 1.7 billion, driven by investments to improve network resilience and roll-out 4G sites. Banglalink invested in high-speed data networks to improve its 3G network coverage. 3G coverage reached approximately 72 percent of the population in Q2 2018 from 70 percent in Q1 2018. 4G LTE service, which was launched in February 2018, covered a population of approximately 15 percent.

Capex in Ukraine was UAH 927 million. Kyivstar rolled out its 3G network, reaching a population coverage of 74.5 percent from 69 percent. Kyivstar started 4G LTE rollout in 21 cities, covering 20 percent of the population.

Capex in Uzbekistan was UZS 132 billion. The company invested in its high-speed data networks, improving the 4G/LTE coverage to 25 percent and increasing the number of nationwide 3G sites by 33 percent.

Capex in Italy joint venture in the quarter was EUR 235 million and was primarily focused on modernizing and merging the former Wind and Tre networks as well as expanding capacity and coverage of 4G/LTE.

The telecom operator modernized approximately 1/3 of the transmission sites in cities such as Rome, Milano and Bologna as part of the investment strategy. The network modernization resulted in an improvement in network performance in these cities, leading to improvement of the customer experience.