Tele2 CEO Kjell Johnsen argued the operator had mitigated short-term headwinds caused by the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic in Q4 2020, as it targets additional cost-savings to offset the impact of expected lower roaming revenue.

In an earnings statement, Johnsen said the company had shifted focus at the onset of the pandemic towards executing long-term objectives such as the launch of 5G, business transformation programs and annual price adjustments in its consumer market in Sweden.

– I feel inspired by the resilience and flexibility of Tele2. At the onset of the pandemic, the company quickly shifted focus and managed to grow underlying EBITDA for the full year despite the pandemic. While successfully mitigating near-term headwinds, we also executed initiatives that will bring long-term benefits such as the launch of 5G, the business transformation program, annual price adjustments in Sweden consumers, and consolidation of the Swedish B2B unit. We now have good clarity on external and internal factors going forward and can fully focus on execution, says Kjell Johnsen, President and CEO of Tele2.

Revenue declined 3 percent year-on-year to SEK6.9 billion ($818.6 million), due to reduced termination rates between operators and a decline in equipment sales in Sweden.

The company said it suffered a negative impact of SEK70 million from the pandemic, but this offset with strong growth in the Baltics and cost reduction in Sweden.

Net profit grew from SEK753 million in Q4 2019 to SEK4.8 billion, with the increase mainly coming from recycled income from the sale of its business in Luxembourg, which will have no impact on total assets or equity long-term.

Going forward, Johnsen said the company remains a cash-generative company, which is why it would maintain its SEK6 dividend per share.

Excluding spectrum and leasing assets, Capex was forecast to reach SEK2.8 billion to SEK3.3 billion for full year 2021 and service revenue will remain flat, assuming international roaming at a similar level to 2020.

Tele2 was the first in Sweden to offer 5G roaming

Tele2 switched on Sweden’s first public 5G network on May 24 2020, which enables Tele2 customers with a Tele2 Unlimited subscription and a 5G ready phone to get free access to 5G. In June 2020, Tele2 launched the first 5G roaming agreement between Tele2 Sweden and Tele2 Latvia, and by that became the first operator in Sweden to provide international 5G compatibility to customers.

Tele2’s Swedish 5G network from the start in Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg and Tele2 is the only operator in Sweden that provides speed over 1 Gbit/s, in accordance with global standards.

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