TeliaSonera raises dividend, sees flat results in 2014

TeliaSonera met its outlook for stable organic sales and a small improvement in the EBITDA margin in 2013 and offered shareholders a 5.3 per cent increase in dividend. The dividend of SEK 3.00 per share is equal to 87 per cent of EPS for the year. Organic sales, excluding forex and changes in scope, were down 0.2 per cent in 2013 and in the fourth quarter of the year, while the adjusted EBITDA margin reached 35 per cent over the full year, versus 34.5 in 2012. 

In Q4, reported sales were still down by 2.1 per cent to SEK 26.50 billion, and EBITDA declined by three per cent to SEK 8.728 billion. The operator said it saw weakness especially in the enterprise market and this will be a key area of focus to improve its competitive position going forward. Net profit plunged by 68.2 per cent to SEK 2.19 billion in the fourth quarter, after SEK 2.5 billion in earlier disclosed charges to write down assets in Denmark, Lithuania and Kazakhstan. 

Free cash flow totaled SEK 16.31 billion over the full year, down by 31.3 per cent from 2012 due to lower dividends from the stake in Megafon. For 2014, TeliaSonera forecast stable organic sales and an unchanged adjusted EBITDA margin, while capex is expected to reduce slightly to around 15 per cent of sales, versus 16.1 per cent last year.