TeliaSonera to exit from Eurasia region

TeliaSonera
Telecom network operator TeliaSonera will exit from Eurasia region that includes Nepal, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Tajikistan.

Last week, TeliaSonera and Telenor announced their decision to drop merging their telecom business in Denmark.

TeliaSonera performance in Eurasia

TeliaSonera clocked 13.9 percent increase in Q2 2015 revenue to SEK 5,740 million in Eurasia, while operating income grew 27.4 percent to SEK 2,004 million. The company has 5,502 employees in the region. TeliaSonera said its Capex (capital spending) increased 38.5 percent to SEK 903 million.

TeliaSonera faced challenging situations in Eurasia during the second quarter of 2015. In April, Nepal was hit by a devastating earthquake. In Kazakhstan, price competition was fierce and impacted service revenue growth and profitability.

TeliaSonera will strengthen focus on Europe and Sweden. As part of its strategy of creating the new
TeliaSonera, the telecom service provider has initiated a process in order to reduce the presence in Region Eurasia and exit.

TeliaSonera has made improvements in areas such as corporate governance and sustainability. It is possible to do business in Eurasia which are both profitable and sustainable – but it is important to enter markets in a correct way.

TeliaSonera President and CEO Johan Dennelind said: “We realize that this will be a complex task that will take time. We are conducting this process market by market as each country and operation has its unique situation, but the ambition is to eventually leave the entire region.”

TeliaSonera will focus on core areas such as connectivity and convergence – while supplementing with new initiatives in areas that complement, and strengthen, the core business in Regions Europe and Sweden.

Baburajan K
[email protected]