VEON Ltd (NASDAQ:VEON) reported first-quarter FY24 sales growth of 6.6% year-on-year to $942 million (+11.6% Y/Y in local currency) compared to $884 million last year.
Total service revenue increased by 5.5% Y/Y to $903 million. Total digital monthly active users across all VEON digital services and platform jumped 40% to 111 million.
First-quarter EBITDA increased by 0.2% Y/Y to $386 million, with an EBITDA margin of 41%, down by 260 basis points.
The 4G subscribers increased 10.6% Y/Y to 97.4 million, with a 61.7% penetration of customer base.
The Digital Operator strategy (DO1440) that launched in 2021 has been building portfolios of digital applications and services tailored for each of the company's markets.
Multiplay B2C customers increased by 21.4% to 33.6 million, representing 26.3% of the user base and accounting for 49.4% of VEON's B2C revenues.
Total cash and cash equivalents were $632 million, as of March-end, with $261 million held at the HQ level.
"I am pleased to see balanced organic performance in all our markets, reflecting our ability to serve our customers in both consumer and business segments with digital solutions in finance, entertainment, healthcare, education and enterprise services," commented Kaan Terzioğlu, VEON Group CEO.
Outlook: For FY24, VEON maintained its full-year guidance for revenue and EBITDA of 16%-18% and 18%-20% growth in local currency supported by the execution of its digital operator strategy and for Group capex intensity of 18%-19%.
Price Action: VEON shares closed higher by 0.31% at $25.50 on Wednesday.
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