VEON has revealed business conditions in the wake of developments relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
VEON Group’s financial position to date remains strong and is supported by ample liquidity and a solid balance sheet.
VEON network and services across all markets is operating normally and business continuity plans are in place.
VEON will be revealing additional details on revenue and Capex on 7 May 2020 at the time of Q1 2020 earnings release.
“Our achievements in streamlining the Group over the past 18 months have ensured that our financial foundations are strong, with lower balance sheet gearing and ample liquidity with which to weather this present storm,” Kaan Terzioglu and Sergi Herrero, joint chief executive officers of VEON, said.
Business operations
VEON has closed down its offices in Amsterdam, London and Luxembourg from Friday 13 March with employees now working from home.
VEON has provided support to employees, with enhanced video conferencing, data packages and other IT equipment to ensure business continuity. VEON has introduced work-from-home arrangements for the majority of office-based employees across operations including key network, technology and call centre staff.
RUSSIA
Beeline Russia team remains focused on improving the customer experience and stabilising operating performance. Though still negative on a year-on-year basis, service revenue for 1Q20 is expected to show similar growth trends compared to 4Q19.
Beeline Russia is expecting drop in roaming revenues due to travel restrictions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. EBITDA margins are expected to come under some pressure in the short term, particularly with the acceleration of network rollout and increased usage by customers in recent weeks.
Beeline Russia has continued its network investments in 1Q20. Beeline Russia has moved to third place from fourth in terms of general number of base stations, according to the latest Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media statistics.
Beeline Russia’s 4G population coverage has reached 99.4 percent during 1Q20 alongside the start of 5G-ready deployment in Moscow. Beeline Russia has closed down more than 200 additional stores through 1Q20, bringing the total of stores closed in the last 9 months to 418. Beeline Russia aims to close down approximately 600 stores and place a greater emphasis on online retail distribution during 2019 and 2020.
As of 30 March, 972 of Beeline own stores and 572 of our franchise stores have been closed due to quarantine measures.
UKRAINE
Business in Ukraine continues to benefit from the strong momentum evident during 2019, with particularly strong performance in data revenues. 4G subscriber base penetration has increased to 28 percent, with 4G customers now around 6.8 million, representing an increase of 90 percent following 4G adoption in Ukraine.
As of 30 March, 177 of 483 monobrand stores have been closed due to quarantine measures. The recent trend in EBITDA is stable as it continues with initiatives to further monetise its 4G network through new customer offers.
PAKISTAN
Jazz Pakistan is expecting strong growth in data revenues supported by an almost doubling in the number of 4G subscribers. 4G penetration continues to grow but remains low highlighting the opportunity for growth in data revenue. Revenues and EBITDA will be negatively affected by the impact of Suo-Moto.
Jazz Pakistan added close to 0.7 million monthly active users to wallet on JazzCash and expect to see approximately 50 percent increase in mobile wallets.
Self-care app Jazz World is expected to reach 5 million monthly active users by the end of 1Q20.
Jazz Pakistan closed approximately 180 shops due to quarantine measures. The first few days of lock-down have negatively impacted daily recharge. EBITDA margins will be impacted by the increased investment in Digital Financial Services.
