Telia Company investment up 20% in first quarter

TeliaSonera telecom operator
Telia Company (earlier known as TeliaSonera) today said its Capex (capital expenditure) during the first quarter of 2016 rose to SEK 3,197 million from SEK 2,559 million in Q1 2015.

Capex excluding spectrum and license of Telia Company increased 19.8 percent to SEK 3,064 million from SEK 2,559 million. Capex to sales ratio increased to 17.6 percent from 14.6 percent.

Telia made an investment of SEK 1,327 million (SEK 1,010 million) in Sweden, SEK 1,061 million (SEK 1,086 million) and SEK 676 million (SEK 463 million) in other operations during the first quarter of 2016.

“We have an investment agenda in 2016, with initiatives to drive both growth and strengthen long-term competitiveness. This involves an acceleration of the Swedish fiber roll-out as well as further build out of 4G capacity and coverage across our core markets. In addition, we work with our business transformation agenda which will reduce complexity and costs over time,” said Telia Company CEO Johan Dennelind.

Telia Company maintains Capex excluding license and spectrum fees for the existing operations to the tune of SEK 14-15 billion for 2016.

Telia Company said first quarter sales fell 0.9 percent to SEK 20,394 million, while net income dipped 4.9 percent to SEK 3,911 million.

”Four out of seven markets carry the Telia brand and with new roam-like-home offerings in place we can leverage our position and boost customer loyalty,” said Johan Dennelind explaining the decision to select a new name for the telecom operator.