Telenor to increase Capex in Q4 focusing on mobile network

Telenor last week said its Capex excluding licences and spectrum was NOK 3.7 billion in the quarter, reflecting a capex-to-sales ratio of 12 percent.
Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke
Year to date, capex excluding licences and spectrum decreased by NOK 1.3 billion to NOK 10.6 billion, yielding a capex to sales ratio of 11 percent.

In Norway the investment level remains high driven by fiber roll-out and preparation for 5G in the network.

In DNA capex spend increased due to network modernisation and 5G roll-out.

Telenor said Capex spend was substantially lower in Asia, mainly due to high investment levels in Thailand last year, import restrictions in Bangladesh in the beginning of this year and fewer roll-outs and upgrades of sites in Pakistan.

A ramp up of Capex is expected during the fourth quarter, related to network modernisation activities and 5G roll-out,” Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke said.

Capex of Telenor was NOK 1,215 million in Norway, NOK 301 million in Sweden, NOK 79 million in Denmark, NOK 543 million in Finland, NOK 899 million in Thailand, NOK 279 million in Malaysia, NOK 354 million in Bangladesh, NOK 160 million in Pakistan and NOK 135 million in Myanmar.

Telenor said the subscriber growth in most markets, amounting to more than 4 million, was offset by the loss of 6.3 million subscribers due to the SIM re-registration in Myanmar. Grameenphone Bangladesh ended the third quarter with an all time high subscriber base of 77.6 million.

Telenor Group’s total mobile subscription base was 180 million at the end of third quarter of 2020.

Grameenphone ended the third quarter with an all time high subscriber base of 77.6 million, with 3.0 million new subscribers.

Telenor Pakistan also reported substantial growth with 1.1 million new subscribers. The underlying increase of more than 4 million subscribers was offset by the loss of nearly 6.3 million subscriptions in Myanmar due to the SIM registration process, resulting in a 2.1 million reduction in the Group’s subscriber base.

Telenor said its Nordic operations reported a continued improvement in their customer bases, with Denmark adding 21,000, Sweden 20,000 and DNA 30,000 new subscriptions this quarter.

Organizational modernization

Telenor said it is simplifying the way of work. Telenor is implementing new business models. Telenor has reduced the number of FTEs with 9 percent year-on-year. It is also focusing on increasing the competencies.

Telenor Denmark is focusing on robotic and process automation. Telenor has increased the number of robotic processes across the business areas with 70 percent year-on-year.

“12 percent of all the customer requests or customer tickets are now handled automatically, and that 12 percent in itself has reduced the need for customer service agent with around 20 FTEs,” Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke said.

Telenor aims to complete the copper decommissioning project in Norway by end of 2022 and be completely legacy free going then into 2023.