VEON Clocks 5% Revenue Decline In Q4; Expects Sale Of Russian Operations To Result In Significant Debt Reduction

VEON Ltd VEON reported a fourth-quarter FY22 revenue decline of 4.9% year-on-year to $940 million (+18.6% Y/Y in local currency).
Total service revenue decreased by 4.4% Y/Y to $901 million. Data and digital revenues fell 7.5% Y/Y.
Q4 EBITDA increased by 1.2% Y/Y to $453 million, with an EBITDA margin of 48.2%, up by 290 bps.
The 4G subscribers increased 19.4% Y/Y to 85 million, with a 53.9% penetration of customer base.
Total cash and cash equivalents were $3.1 billion, as of December 31, 2022, with $2.5 billion held at the HQ level.
Recently, VEON approved a change of ratio in the company's ADR program, comprising a change in the ratio of American Depositary Shares to VEON common shares from one (1) ADS representing one (1) Share to one (1) ADS representing twenty-five (25) Shares.
"In the final quarter of 2022, we added further operational momentum and recorded double-digit local currency revenue growth in five of our countries, doubling the growth rate from a year ago. With our Russian operations now classified as 'held for sale' and 'discontinued operations' and not contributing to Group revenues, VEON's topline growth in local currency for the full year 2022 was 14.%. Furthermore, the sale of Russia will result in the significant deleveraging of the Group balance sheet," commented Kaan Terzioğlu, VEON Group CEO.
Price Action: VEON shares closed lower by 0.99% at $15 on Wednesday.