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Tele2 — Interim / Quarterly Report 2020
Feb 2, 2021
2981_10-k_2021-02-02_81391021-3f36-4c72-9edd-9750f4ada57b.pdf
Interim / Quarterly Report
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2020
Tele2 Full Year and Fourth Quarter Report

Q4 2020 HIGHLIGHTS
- End-user service revenue of SEK 4.8 billion declined by 2% compared to Q4 2019 on an organic basis due to negative impact from the pandemic.
- Revenue of SEK 6.9 billion, a decline by 3% compared to Q4 2019 on an organic basis.
- Underlying EBITDAaL of SEK 2.3 billion increased by 3% organically compared to Q4 2019 despite the pandemic impact, driven by strong performance in the Baltics and cost savings.
- Net profit from total operations of SEK 4.1 billion increased by SEK 3.2 billion compared to Q4 2019. The increase was mainly due to translation differences in Luxembourg of SEK 3.3 billion, with no impact on equity (see Note 3).
- Full year 2020 results delivered on guidance with underlying EBITDAaL growth of 2% (guidance of roughly flat) and capex excluding spectrum and leases of SEK 2.7 billion (guidance of SEK 2.5-3.0 billion).
- The Board of Directors proposes an ordinary dividend of SEK 6.00 per share, a 9% increase from last year.
- Financial guidance for the mid-term reiterated. Issuing 2021 guidance of roughly flat end-user service revenue and 2-4% growth in underlying EBITDAaL compared to 2020, assuming international roaming at a similar level to 2020. Capex excluding spectrum and leasing assets expected to be SEK 2.8–3.3 billion in 2021.
Key financial data
| SEK million | Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Organic % |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continuing operations | ||||||
| End-user service revenue | 4,809 | 4,909 | -2% | 19,184 | 19,466 | -1% |
| Revenue | 6,884 | 7,163 | -3% | 26,554 | 27,203 | -2% |
| Operating profit | 3,557 | 1,125 | 7,371 | 3,812 | ||
| Profit after financial items | 3,444 | 1,004 | 6,855 | 3,367 | ||
| Underlying EBITDAaL | 2,348 | 2,298 | 3% | 9,239 | 9,043 | 2% |
| Capex excluding spectrum and leases | 879 | 705 | 2,717 | 2,387 | ||
| Operating cash flow | 1,469 | 1,593 | 6,523 | 6,656 | ||
| Operating cash flow, rolling 12 months | 6,523 | 6,656 | ||||
| Equity free cashflow | 872 | 1,225 | 4,799 | 4,159 | ||
| Equity free cash flow, rolling 12 months | 4,799 | 4,159 | ||||
| Total operations | ||||||
| Net profit | 4,118 | 943 | 7,408 | 5,134 | ||
| Earnings per share after dilution (SEK) | 5.95 | 1.36 | 10.71 | 7.24 | ||
| Equity free cashflow | 885 | 1,484 | 4,879 | 4,840 | ||
| Economic net debt to underlying EBITDAaL |
2.6x | 2.5x |

Continuing and discontinued operations
Figures presented in this report refer to Q4 (October-December) 2020 and continuing operations unless otherwise stated. Figures shown in parentheses refer to the comparable periods in 2019. Discontinued operations include the former operations, primarily in Germany, Croatia and Kazakhstan. See Note 10.
Non-IFRS measures
This report contains certain non-IFRS measures which are defined and reconciliated to the closest reconcilable line items in the section Non-IFRS measures on page 28. Note that organic growth rates exclude effects from currency movements. For further definitions of industry terms and acronyms, please refer to the Investor section at www.tele2.com.
CEO LETTER – Q4 2020
As we close the final quarter of a challenging year, 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 EBITDAaL for the full year despite the pandemic. While successfully mitigating near term headwinds, we also executed on initiatives that will bring long term benefits such as the launch of 5G, the business transformation program, annual price adjustments in Sweden consumer and consolidation of the Swedish B2B unit. In January 2021, we presented a new extended leadership team with two new appointments representing key strategic focus areas Sweden B2B and Technology.
While our experience from 2020 gives us confidence that we are well equipped to handle the challenges in the year ahead, we do not expect to go back to business as usual yet. As it is now clear that we will have to continue living with the pandemic for some time this year, we expect EUSR to be roughly flat in 2021 and underlying EBITDAaL to grow 2-4% on a Group level. This assumes that international roaming remains at very low levels for most of the year. We will compensate for the lack of meaningful EUSR growth by reducing cost as we ramp up the business transformation program. We will also continue to invest into growth initiatives offsetting some of the cost savings realized in Sweden. We expect the program to deliver a run-rate of roughly half the three-year target of SEK 1 billion of cost savings by the end of 2021, which should translate to a SEK 250 million impact during the year in addition to what was realized in 2020.
One thing that the pandemic has made clear is how important telecommunications services are to both businesses and consumers. Even after the pandemic is behind us, our role as an essential part of society will remain and we should benefit from increasing demand for connectivity. So even though we face near-term challenges, we have full confidence in our mid-term strategy. We therefore reiterate our mid-term guidance of low single-digit EUSR growth, mid-single-digit underlying EBITDAaL growth and capex excluding spectrum and leases of SEK 2.8-3.3bn annually. This guidance includes a return to sustainable growth in Sweden consumer driven by price and volume growth in mobile postpaid and fixed broadband. It includes continued delivery in the Baltics, offsetting initial decline in Sweden B2B which should stabilize gradually. Underlying EBITDAaL growth will be further supported by the business transformation program which is set to end 2022 with a run-rate of at least SEK 1 billion in cost reduction.
The capex guidance includes the full rollout of 5G in all our markets and Remote-PHY in Sweden. After securing spectrum and finalizing the vendor procurement process we will now, together with Telenor, roll out a nationwide 5G radio access network in Sweden. We see both Remote-PHY and 5G as investments into customer satisfaction as these upgrades allows us to provide our customers with more of what they want such as increased speed and coverage, lower latency and increased capacity. These two major network upgrades will support our more-for-more strategy for years to come as they are monetized through increased pricing power and customer loyalty.
Due to recent regulatory developments, the rollout will be done in a shorter amount of time than originally planned. On one hand this may cause us to exceed the guided capex range slightly in a single year, but on the other hand we will return to low capex levels faster, we will not spend more capex in total than originally planned, and we will be able to provide 5G services faster which means that we can also monetize them faster. Even during the peak rollout period, the network sharing arrangements will allow Tele2 to spend significantly less capex than most of our peers and remain one of the most capital efficient operators in Europe.

I feel inspired by the resilience and flexibility of Tele2. "
In April 2020, Tele2 became the first telco in the Nordics and the Baltics to be climate neutral in its own operations. Following that, we conducted comprehensive analysis of our past and future sustainability efforts, including input from over 9,000 employees, consumers, B2B customers and investors. Based on that, we have launched a new sustainability strategy with clearly defined focus areas and an ambition to lead in sustainability. With this strategy in place, we can make a significant sustainability impact while also increasing internal efficiency, find new business opportunities and win more customers.
Despite headwinds from the pandemic, Tele2 remains a cash generative company and we intend to distribute that cash to shareholders. For this year, the Board proposes an ordinary dividend of SEK 6.00 per share (SEK 4.1 billion), paid out in two tranches in May and October 2021. In addition, with continued growth in underlying EBITDAaL we remain committed to maintain leverage within the target range of 2.5-3.0x.
During 2021 we will continue to mitigate the effects of the ongoing pandemic, but we will also focus on the crucial strategic opportunities and challenges ahead to deliver on our mid-term guidance after the pandemic is over. We will continue executing on the FMC more-for-more strategy and optimize our brand portfolio to bring Sweden consumer back to growth. We will be more dynamic in our approach to the Swedish B2B market and push where we need to, but pull back where it does not make financial sense. We will continue executing on the business transformation program and invest in our network to maintain our 5G leadership. I feel confident in our ability to succeed and exceed expectations as we apply the same resilience to 2021 as we did in 2020.
Kjell Johnsen
President and Group CEO
Financial overview
Analysis of revenue
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Organic % |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile | 1,443 | 1,427 | 1% | 5,726 | 5,651 | 1% |
| - Postpaid | 1,193 | 1,160 | 3% | 4,721 | 4,567 | 3% |
| - Prepaid | 250 | 268 | -7% | 1,005 | 1,085 | -7% |
| Fixed | 1,455 | 1,508 | -3% | 5,840 | 6,092 | -4% |
| - Fixed broadband | 677 | 640 | 6% | 2,653 | 2,516 | 5% |
| - Digital TV | 707 | 777 | -9% | 2,878 | 3,186 | -10% |
| - Cable & Fiber | 424 | 451 | -6% | 1,693 | 1,835 | -8% |
| - DTT | 283 | 326 | -13% | 1,185 | 1,351 | -12% |
| - Fixed telephony & DSL | 71 | 90 | -21% | 309 | 390 | -21% |
| Landlord & Other | 171 | 176 | -3% | 694 | 706 | -2% |
| Sweden Consumer | 3,069 | 3,111 | -1% | 12,260 | 12,450 | -2% |
| Sweden Business | 969 | 1,061 | -9% | 3,889 | 4,177 | -7% |
| Baltics | 771 | 738 | 8% | 3,035 | 2,839 | 8% |
| End-user service revenue | 4,809 | 4,909 | -2% | 19,184 | 19,466 | -1% |
| Operator revenue | 593 | 653 | -8% | 2,341 | 2,511 | -7% |
| Equipment revenue | 1,483 | 1,600 | -7% | 5,029 | 5,225 | -4% |
| Revenue | 6,884 | 7,163 | -3% | 26,554 | 27,203 | -2% |
End-user service revenue decreased by 2% organically due to headwinds related to the pandemic including loss of international roaming revenue.
- Sweden Consumer decreased by 1%, driven by mobile prepaid and digital TV where the decline was elevated due to COVID-19. This offset continued growth in fixed broadband, driven by both volume and price, and mobile postpaid where the effect of price adjustments along with a larger customer base compensated for lower roaming.
- Sweden Business decreased by 9%, due to continued price pressure in the market, loss of roaming revenue and decline in legacy fixed services.
- Baltics showed strong growth of 8% organically despite a second lockdown during the quarter. This was driven by strong ASPU (Average Spend Per User) growth due to continued successful monetization of data consumption.
Total revenue decreased by 3% organically. Lower operator revenue was mainly explained by reduced termination rates charged between operators. Equipment revenue declined due to lower equipment sales in Sweden Consumer and Sweden Business.
Analysis of income statement
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 6,884 | 7,163 | 26,554 | 27,203 |
| Underlying EBITDAaL | 2,348 | 2,298 | 9,239 | 9,043 |
| Reversal lease depreciation and interest | 313 | 343 | 1,245 | 1,266 |
| Underlying EBITDA | 2,661 | 2,640 | 10,484 | 10,309 |
| Items affecting comparability | 1,963 | -104 | 1,844 | -711 |
| EBITDA | 4,624 | 2,536 | 12,329 | 9,598 |
| Depreciation/amortization | -1,322 | -1,390 | -5,269 | -5,220 |
| - of which amortization of surplus from acquisitions | -301 | -305 | -1,203 | -1,199 |
| - of which lease depreciation | -299 | -320 | -1,182 | -1,185 |
| - of which other depreciation/amortization | -722 | -765 | -2,883 | -2,836 |
| Impairment | — | -1 | — | -469 |
| Result from shares in associated companies and joint ventures |
255 | -20 | 311 | -97 |
| Operating profit | 3,557 | 1,125 | 7,371 | 3,812 |
| Net interest and other financial items | -112 | -121 | -517 | -445 |
| Income tax | 1,032 | -251 | 378 | -936 |
| Net profit | 4,476 | 753 | 7,233 | 2,431 |
Underlying EBITDAaL increased by 3% organically as the effect of declining revenue and a negative impact of approximately SEK 70 million from the pandemic was offset by continued strong growth in the Baltics and cost reduction in Sweden. The cost savings were primarily related to the business transformation program initiated in 2020.
Items affecting comparability of SEK 1,963 (-104) million included SEK 2,033 million related to translation differences, recycled from the income statement in conjunction with the closure of the operation in Luxembourg, with no impact on total assets or equity. Items affecting comparability also included restructuring costs of SEK -54 (-101) million, incurred in the ongoing business transformation program. Refer to Note 3 for more detail.
Operating profit increased to SEK 3,557 (1,125) million, with stronger underlying EBITDA and contribution from shares in associated companies, as well as inflated items affecting comparability.
Income tax of SEK 695 million included a positive effect of SEK 1,280 million related to the translation differences in Luxembourg mentioned above. Refer to Note 3 for more detail.
Analysis of cash flow statement
| SEK million | Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continuing operations | ||||
| Underlying EBITDA | 2,661 | 2,640 | 10,484 | 10,309 |
| Items affecting comparability | 1,963 | -104 | 1,844 | -711 |
| Amortization of lease liabilities | -272 | -283 | -1,168 | -1,124 |
| Capex paid | -729 | -616 | -2,704 | -3,289 |
| Changes in working capital | -414 | -318 | -337 | -44 |
| Net financial items paid | -86 | -81 | -467 | -408 |
| Taxes paid | -254 | -42 | -916 | -686 |
| Other cash items | -1,998 | 29 | -1,937 | 112 |
| Equity free cash flow | 872 | 1,225 | 4,799 | 4,159 |
| Equity free cash flow, rolling 12 months1) | 4,799 | 4,159 | ||
| Total operations | ||||
| Equity free cash flow, continuing operations | 872 | 1,225 | 4,799 | 4,159 |
| Equity free cash flow, discontinued operations | 13 | 259 | 80 | 681 |
| Equity free cash flow | 885 | 1,484 | 4,879 | 4,840 |
1) Reconciliation of equity free cash flow rolling 12 months are presented in an excel document (Q4 2020-financials to the market) on Tele2's website www.tele2.com.
Capex paid increased to SEK -729 (-616) million due to increased investments into the network, IT investments related to the business transformation program and higher customer equipment capex in Sweden in connection with the digitalization of the analogue TV service.
Changes in working capital of SEK -414 (-318) million turned negative due to timing of equipment receivables in Sweden following seasonally high equipment sales.
Taxes paid increased to SEK -254 (-42) million due to repaid preliminary tax in Sweden in Q4 2019.
Other cash items includes a reversal of the SEK 2,033 million (included in items affecting comparability) related to the closure of the former operations in Luxembourg as the cash impact is neutral.
Equity free cash flow from continuing operations of SEK 872 (1,225) million in the quarter decreased due to higher capex paid, higher negative change in working capital and higher taxes paid. Over the last twelve months, SEK 4.8 billion was generated, equivalent to roughly SEK 7 per share.
Analysis of financial position
| Total operations SEK million |
Dec 31 2020 |
Dec 31 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Bonds | 21,175 | 20,305 |
| Commercial papers | — | 1,100 |
| Financial institutions and other liabilities | 3,954 | 3,912 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | -970 | -448 |
| Other adjustments | -217 | -164 |
| Economic net debt | 23,942 | 24,705 |
| Lease liabilities | 5,327 | 6,111 |
| Net debt | 29,269 | 30,816 |
| Underlying EBITDAaL, rolling 12 months1) | 9,239 | 9,702 |
| Economic net debt to Underlying EBITDAaL | 2.6x | 2.5x |
| Unutilized overdraft facilities and credit lines | 8,560 | 8,716 |
1) Includes all operations owned and controlled by Tele2 at the end of each reporting period.
Economic net debt of SEK 23.9 billion (24.7 billion at year-end 2019) was reduced by SEK 0.8 billion during 2020, driven by cash generation in the business and proceeds of SEK 2.0 billion from the sale of Tele2 Croatia, fully covering the total shareholder remuneration of SEK 6.2 billion.
Economic net debt to underlying EBITDAaL (financial leverage) of 2.6x (2.5x year end 2019) was within the leverage target range of 2.5-3.0x at the end of December.
Financial guidance
Financial guidance
Tele2 AB provides the following guidance for continuing operations in constant currencies.
Full-year 2021
The guidance for 2021 includes an assumption that international roaming will be at a similar level to 2020.
- Group end-user service revenue roughly flat compared to 2020.
- Group underlying EBITDAaL growth of 2-4% compared to 2020.
- Capex excluding spectrum and leasing assets of SEK 2.8–3.3 billion.
Mid-term
- Low single-digit growth of end-user service revenue.
- Mid-single-digit growth of underlying EBITDAaL.
- Annual capex excluding spectrum and leasing assets of SEK 2.8–3.3 billion during the roll-out of 5G and Remote-PHY.
Dividend
For the financial year 2020, the Board of Directors of Tele2 AB has decided to recommend to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 22, 2021 that an ordinary dividend of SEK 6.00 be paid per ordinary A and B share, in two equal tranches in May and October, 2021.
Financial policy
- Tele2 will seek to operate within a range for economic net debt to underlying EBITDAaL of between 2.5–3.0x, and to maintain investment grade credit metrics.
- Tele2's policy will aim to maintain target leverage by distributing capital to shareholders through:
- An ordinary dividend of at least 80 percent of equity free cash flow, and,
- Extraordinary dividends and/or share repurchases, based on remaining equity free cash flow, proceeds from asset sales and re-leveraging of underlying EBITDAaL growth.
Group summary
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Organic % |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| END-USER SERVICE REVENUE | ||||||
| Sweden | 4,038 | 4,171 | -3% | 16,149 | 16,627 | -3% |
| Lithuania | 420 | 392 | 11% | 1,631 | 1,502 | 10% |
| Latvia | 226 | 217 | 8% | 901 | 857 | 6% |
| Estonia | 125 | 129 | 1% | 503 | 480 | 6% |
| Total | 4,809 | 4,909 | -2% | 19,184 | 19,466 | -1% |
| REVENUE | ||||||
| Sweden | 5,569 | 5,890 | -5% | 21,601 | 22,415 | -4% |
| Lithuania | 760 | 703 | 12% | 2,812 | 2,656 | 7% |
| Latvia | 369 | 366 | 4% | 1,424 | 1,402 | 3% |
| Estonia | 214 | 226 | -2% | 819 | 813 | 2% |
| Internal sales, elimination | -28 | -23 | 23% | -102 | -84 | 21% |
| Total | 6,884 | 7,163 | -3% | 26,554 | 27,203 | -2% |
| UNDERLYING EBITDAaL | ||||||
| Sweden | 1,942 | 1,901 | 2% | 7,608 | 7,515 | 1% |
| Lithuania | 263 | 240 | 13% | 1,043 | 957 | 10% |
| Latvia | 138 | 131 | 9% | 556 | 526 | 7% |
| Estonia | 42 | 46 | -4% | 173 | 162 | 8% |
| Other | -38 | -21 | 81% | -140 | -117 | 20% |
| Total | 2,348 | 2,298 | 3% | 9,239 | 9,043 | 2% |
| CAPEX | ||||||
| Sweden | 756 | 595 | 27% | 2,399 | 2,035 | 18% |
| Lithuania | 48 | 51 | -4% | 120 | 139 | -12% |
| Latvia | 42 | 27 | 61% | 104 | 122 | -14% |
| Estonia | 33 | 32 | 4% | 93 | 90 | 5% |
| Other | — | 0 | -100% | — | 2 | -100% |
| Capex excluding spectrum and leases | 879 | 705 | 25% | 2,717 | 2,387 | 14% |
| Spectrum | — | 0 | — | 68 | ||
| Right-of-use assets (leases) | 602 | 552 | 1,182 | 1,306 | ||
| Total | 1,481 | 1,257 | 3,899 | 3,761 | ||
| of which: | ||||||
| – Network | 456 | 332 | 1,301 | 1,144 | ||
| – IT | 242 | 212 | 740 | 740 | ||
| – Customer equipment | 161 | 94 | 516 | 303 | ||
| – Other | 21 | 67 | 159 | 201 | ||
| Capex excluding spectrum and leases | 879 | 705 | 2,717 | 2,387 |
Overview by segment
Sweden
In Sweden, the good momentum in consumer fixed broadband and mobile postpaid end-user service revenue continued in the quarter. However, it did not fully compensate for the headwinds from the pandemic as commercial activity was affected by the second wave of COVID-19. EUSR decreased by -3% driven by COVID-19 related headwinds and continued price pressure within Sweden Business. The COVID-19 headwinds were mainly related to loss of international roaming revenue but also lower activity within mobile prepaid and loss of revenue from churn of premium TV packages in previous quarters.
Improvements, mainly within B2B, support functions and the technology organization, were executed through the business transformation program resulting in annualized run-rate savings of SEK 250 million at the end of the quarter. Savings totaled SEK 50 million in the quarter and SEK 95 million within the year.
Underlying EBITDAaL increased by 2% as the negative impact from the pandemic of roughly SEK 50 million was offset by continued execution of the business transformation program and somewhat lower commercial spend.
Capex excluding spectrum and leases increased by SEK 162 million due to 5G related network investments, IT investments related to the business transformation program and temporarily higher customer equipment capex in connection with the digitalization of the analogue TV service.
| Financials SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Organic % |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End-user service revenue | 4,038 | 4,171 | -3% | 16,149 | 16,627 | -3% |
| Revenue | 5,569 | 5,890 | -5% | 21,601 | 22,415 | -4% |
| Underlying EBITDA | 2,211 | 2,188 | 8,676 | 8,614 | ||
| Underlying EBITDAaL | 1,942 | 1,901 | 2% | 7,608 | 7,515 | 1% |
| Underlying EBITDAaL margin | 35% | 32% | 35% | 34% | ||
| Capex | ||||||
| Network | 362 | 283 | 1,073 | 927 | ||
| IT | 221 | 167 | 681 | 649 | ||
| Customer equipment | 159 | 92 | 508 | 299 | ||
| Other | 15 | 52 | 137 | 161 | ||
| Capex excluding spectrum and leases | 756 | 595 | 2,399 | 2,035 | ||
| Right-of-use-assets (leases) | 506 | 390 | 987 | 1,073 | ||
| Capex | 1,262 | 984 | 3,387 | 3,109 | ||
| Capex excluding spectrum and leases / revenue | 14% | 10% | 11% | 9% |
Sweden Consumer
We continued to execute on our Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) strategy with 270,000 customers now on FMC offers. During the quarter we saw intensified competition in the mobile market with a higher level of promotions primarily in the premium segment. We saw good traction with new broadband and TV offers which we launched during black Friday. In TV we secured attractive linear and streamed content rights through a multi-year deal with TV4.
Mobile postpaid net intake was negative as we scaled back market activity somewhat while competition intensified. We saw the full impact from the price adjustments made earlier in the year. However, this was partly offset by headwinds from the pandemic, primarily international roaming and continued decline within mobile prepaid, resulting in mobile EUSR growth of 1%.
Fixed broadband EUSR grew by 6% driven by strong net intake aided by the digital switch made in Q3 and higher ASPU on the back of backbook price adjustments made earlier in the year.
The decline in TV EUSR continued but at a lower rate than previous quarters as the EUSR from premium sports packages is back. However, total EUSR from premium sports packages declined compared to Q4 2019 as some customers cancelled the service in Q2 and Q3 2020 during the sports lockdown caused by the pandemic.
| Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RGUs (in thousands) | Net intake | RGU base | ||||
| Mobile | -28 | -29 | 2,956 | 2,962 | 0% | |
| – Postpaid | -10 | 11 | 1,931 | 1,875 | 3% | |
| – Prepaid | -18 | -41 | 1,025 | 1,088 | -6% | |
| Fixed | -16 | -4 | 2,122 | 2,177 | -3% | |
| – Fixed broadband | 8 | 10 | 911 | 873 | 4% | |
| – Digital TV | -13 | -10 | 979 | 1,022 | -4% | |
| – Cable & Fiber | -2 | 1 | 662 | 665 | 0% | |
| – DTT | -11 | -11 | 317 | 357 | -11% | |
| – Fixed telephony & DSL | -11 | -4 | 232 | 282 | -18% | |
| Total RGUs | -44 | -34 | 5,079 | 5,139 | -1% | |
| Addressable fixed footprint | 116 | 24 | 3,521 | 3,314 | 6% |
| Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Organic % |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASPU (SEK) | ||||||
| Mobile | 162 | 160 | 1% | 161 | 159 | 1% |
| – Postpaid | 205 | 207 | -1% | 207 | 206 | 0% |
| – Prepaid | 81 | 81 | 0% | 79 | 81 | -3% |
| Fixed | 228 | 231 | -1% | 226 | 231 | -2% |
| – Fixed broadband | 249 | 246 | 1% | 248 | 247 | 0% |
| – Digital TV | 239 | 252 | -5% | 240 | 255 | -6% |
| – Cable & Fiber | 213 | 226 | -6% | 213 | 231 | -8% |
| – DTT | 293 | 300 | -3% | 293 | 298 | -2% |
| – Fixed telephony & DSL | 100 | 105 | -6% | 100 | 107 | -6% |
| Revenue (SEK million) | ||||||
| Mobile | 1,443 | 1,427 | 1% | 5,726 | 5,651 | 1% |
| – Postpaid | 1,193 | 1,160 | 3% | 4,721 | 4,567 | 3% |
| – Prepaid | 250 | 268 | -7% | 1,005 | 1,085 | -7% |
| Fixed | 1,455 | 1,508 | -3% | 5,840 | 6,092 | -4% |
| – Fixed broadband | 677 | 640 | 6% | 2,653 | 2,516 | 5% |
| – Digital TV | 707 | 777 | -9% | 2,878 | 3,186 | -10% |
| – Cable & Fiber | 424 | 451 | -6% | 1,693 | 1,835 | -8% |
| – DTT | 283 | 326 | -13% | 1,185 | 1,351 | -12% |
| – Fixed telephony & DSL | 71 | 90 | -21% | 309 | 390 | -21% |
| Landlord & Other | 171 | 176 | -3% | 694 | 706 | -2% |
| End-user service revenue | 3,069 | 3,111 | -1% | 12,260 | 12,450 | -2% |
| Operator revenue | 175 | 204 | 676 | 818 | ||
| Equipment revenue | 559 | 637 | 1,989 | 2,104 | ||
| Revenue | 3,803 | 3,951 | -4% | 14,926 | 15,372 | -3% |
Sweden Business
During the quarter we merged the SME and Large Enterprise units to allow for better coordination, and consolidated the Sweden Business and Sweden Consumer support functions to increase efficiency.
Competition remained intense during the quarter driving price pressure for both new sales and renewals. In Large Enterprise we continue our efforts to modernize the product portfolio and saw increased handset and accessories sales as a result, opening up opportunities for more bundling and cross-selling in 2021. In SME we continued customer migration to our target IT architecture which we expect to give enhanced customer experience and improve commercial capabilities in upselling, cross-selling and internal efficiency. Positive mobile net intake was driven by new contracts within Large Enterprise. New contracts signed include HCL, Wallenstam, Upplands-Bro Kommun and Haninge Kommun.
Total EUSR declined by 9% driven by continued decline in legacy fixed services, price pressure and headwinds from the pandemic. The decline in wholesale revenue was primarily related to lower roaming.
Sweden Business
| Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RGUs (in thousands) | Net intake | RGU base | ||||
| Mobile (excluding IoT) | ||||||
| – Postpaid | 11 | 3 | 947 | 920 | 3% |
| Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Organic % |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASPU (SEK) | ||||||
| Mobile (excluding IoT) | ||||||
| – Postpaid | 139 | 163 | -15% | 145 | 165 | -12% |
| Revenue (SEK million) | ||||||
| Mobile | 466 | 502 | -7% | 1,866 | 1,974 | -5% |
| Fixed | 238 | 271 | -12% | 980 | 1,113 | -12% |
| Solutions | 265 | 288 | -8% | 1,043 | 1,090 | -4% |
| End-user service revenue | 969 | 1,061 | -9% | 3,889 | 4,177 | -7% |
| Operator revenue | 29 | 40 | 119 | 131 | ||
| Equipment revenue | 517 | 569 | 1,684 | 1,736 | ||
| Revenue | 1,515 | 1,671 | -9% | 5,692 | 6,044 | -6% |
Sweden Wholesale
| Financials SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Organic % |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator revenue | 250 | 266 | 978 | 986 | ||
| Internal sales | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13 | ||
| Revenue | 251 | 268 | -6% | 984 | 999 | -2% |
Baltics
Lithuania
Due to the continued pandemic, Lithuania went into a second nationwide lockdown during the quarter. Despite the lockdown, Tele2 Lithuania managed to return to pre-quarantine levels of equipment sales mainly due to Christmas campaigns and digital sales. International roaming revenue and prepaid intake continued to be affected negatively by the pandemic.
The net intake of -5,000 mobile RGUs in the quarter was mainly driven by seasonal churn in mobile prepaid.
Upselling in connection with contract renewals drove an ASPU increase of 11% compared to Q4 2019.
End-user service revenue increased by 11% driven by growth in ASPU. Underlying EBITDAaL increased by 13% driven by higher end-user service revenue and strong contribution from equipment sales.
| Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RGUs (in thousands) | Net intake | RGU base | |||
| Mobile | -5 | -7 | 1,884 | 1,895 | -1% |
| Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Organic % |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASPU (EUR) | |||||||
| Mobile | 7.2 | 6.5 | 11% | 6.9 | 6.3 | 9% | |
| Revenue (SEK million) | |||||||
| End-user service revenue | 420 | 392 | 11% | 1,631 | 1,502 | 10% | |
| Operator revenue | 65 | 61 | 262 | 250 | |||
| Equipment revenue | 260 | 235 | 869 | 859 | |||
| Internal sales | 15 | 14 | 50 | 44 | |||
| Revenue | 760 | 703 | 12% | 2,812 | 2,656 | 7% | |
| Underlying EBITDA | 281 | 257 | 1,111 | 1,019 | |||
| Underlying EBITDAaL | 263 | 240 | 13% | 1,043 | 957 | 10% | |
| Underlying EBITDAaL margin | 35% | 34% | 37% | 36% | |||
| Capex | 74 | 53 | 177 | 157 | |||
| Capex excluding spectrum and leases | 48 | 51 | 120 | 139 | |||
| Capex excluding spectrum and leases / revenue | 6% | 7% | 4% | 5% |
Latvia
Due to the global pandemic, Latvia went into a second nationwide lockdown during the quarter which impacted commercial activity in the stores. International roaming revenues and prepaid intake continued to be affected negatively by the pandemic.
The net intake of -6,000 mobile RGUs in the quarter was driven by seasonal churn in mobile prepaid while mobile postpaid saw positive momentum. Mobile ASPU increased by 6% in local currency driven by growth in mobile broadband and continued data monetization.
End-user service revenue increased by 8% in local currency, driven by ASPU growth and positive net intake in mobile postpaid. Underlying EBITDAaL increased by 9%, primarily driven by higher end-user service revenue.
| Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RGUs (in thousands) | Net intake | RGU base | |||
| Mobile | -6 | -8 | 970 | 954 | 2% |
| Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Organic % |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASPU (EUR) | ||||||
| Mobile | 7.5 | 7.1 | 6% | 7.4 | 7.1 | 5% |
| Revenue (SEK million) | ||||||
| End-user service revenue | 226 | 217 | 8% | 901 | 857 | 6% |
| Operator revenue | 42 | 49 | 177 | 195 | ||
| Equipment revenue | 92 | 95 | 309 | 330 | ||
| Internal sales | 9 | 5 | 38 | 20 | ||
| Revenue | 369 | 366 | 4% | 1,424 | 1,402 | 3% |
| Underlying EBITDA | 149 | 141 | 599 | 565 | ||
| Underlying EBITDAaL | 138 | 131 | 9% | 556 | 526 | 7% |
| Underlying EBITDAaL margin | 37% | 36% | 39% | 38% | ||
| Capex | 70 | 34 | 176 | 227 | ||
| Capex excluding spectrum and leases | 42 | 27 | 104 | 122 | ||
| Capex excluding spectrum and leases / revenue | 11% | 7% | 7% | 9% |
Estonia
Tele2 Estonia continued to be affected by headwinds from the pandemic during the quarter, primarily related to international roaming revenue, equipment sales and mobile prepaid volumes.
Mobile net intake was slightly negative, mainly driven by seasonal churn in mobile prepaid. Mobile ASPU increased by 1% as continued monetization of higher data consumption in the consumer segment was offset by lower ASPU within the business segment and lower revenue from international roaming.
End-user service revenue increased by 1%, driven by ASPU growth. Underlying EBITDAaL decreased by 4% primarily due to higher spend on sales and marketing during the quarter.
| Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
Organic % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RGUs (in thousands) | Net intake | RGU base | |||
| Mobile | -1 | -2 | 437 | 437 | 0% |
| Organic | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Organic % |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
% | |
| ASPU (EUR) | ||||||
| Mobile | 8.8 | 8.8 | 1% | 8.7 | 8.2 | 6% |
| Revenue (SEK million) | ||||||
| End-user service revenue | 125 | 129 | 1% | 503 | 480 | 6% |
| Operator revenue | 32 | 32 | 130 | 131 | ||
| Equipment revenue | 54 | 63 | 178 | 196 | ||
| Internal sales | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | ||
| Revenue | 214 | 226 | -2% | 819 | 813 | 2% |
| Underlying EBITDA | 59 | 75 | 237 | 226 | ||
| Underlying EBITDAaL | 42 | 46 | -4% | 173 | 162 | 8% |
| Underlying EBITDAaL margin | 20% | 20% | 21% | 20% | ||
| Capex | 75 | 186 | 159 | 267 | ||
| Capex excluding spectrum and leases | 33 | 32 | 93 | 90 | ||
| Capex excluding spectrum and leases / revenue | 15% | 14% | 11% | 11% |
Associated companies
Associated companies are accounted for in accordance with the equity method. This means that Tele2's share of the company's profit or loss after tax is reported under Operating profit, along with amortization of the Group surplus values.
The Netherlands
Tele2 owns 25% of T-Mobile Netherlands. This section shows 100% of the company, as reported by Deutsche Telecom1).
During Q3 2020 T-Mobile Netherlands (TMNL) continued to attract new customers across all services except mobile communications prepaid. Revenue increased by 1% despite continued roaming headwinds and decline within the business segment.
EBITDAaL increased by 7%, mainly driven by the successful execution of synergies from the merger between TMNL and Tele2 Netherlands.
During Q3 2020, TMNL paid EUR 200 million, the first of two equal payments, for spectrum in the 700, 1,400 and 2,100 MHz bands acquired in July 2020 (not included in Cash capex in the table below).
In October 2020, TMNL announced its intention to acquire the MVNO Simpel. The acquisition was approved by the authorities and closed in December, 2020.
| Jul-Sep | Jul-Sep | Sep 30 | Sep 30 | Organic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | % | |
| Customers (in thousands) | Net intake | Customer base | |||
| Fixed Network | |||||
| - Fixed Network Access Lines | 661 | 601 | 10% | ||
| - Broadband Customers | 647 | 586 | 10% | ||
| Mobile Communications | |||||
| - Contract | 62 | 80 | 5,368 | 5,106 | 5% |
| - Prepaid | -42 | -7 | 393 | 422 | -7% |
| Total mobile | 5,761 | 5,528 | 4% |
| Jul-Sep 2020 |
Jul-Sep 2019 |
Organic % |
Jan-Sep 2020 |
Jan-Sep 2019 |
Organic % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARPU (EUR) | 15 | 16 | -6% | 15 | 16 | -6% |
| Contract | 16 | 17 | -6% | 16 | 17 | -6% |
| Prepaid | 3 | 3 | 0% | 3 | 3 | 0% |
| Financials (EUR million)2) | ||||||
| Service revenue - Mobile communications | 278 | 277 | 0% | 814 | 793 | 3% |
| Product view | 484 | 479 | 1% | 1,441 | 1,398 | 3% |
| - Fixed network | 95 | 90 | 6% | 287 | 270 | 6% |
| - Mobile communications | 390 | 390 | 0% | 1,154 | 1,129 | 2% |
| Segment view | 484 | 479 | 1% | 1,441 | 1,398 | 3% |
| - of which Consumer | 358 | 353 | 1% | 1,071 | 1,034 | 4% |
| - of which Business | 96 | 97 | -1% | 292 | 292 | 0% |
| Total revenue | 484 | 479 | 1% | 1,441 | 1,398 | 3% |
| EBITDA | 163 | 153 | 7% | 482 | 437 | 10% |
| EBITDAaL | 141 | 132 | 7% | 419 | 372 | 13% |
| EBITDAaL margin | 29% | 28% | 29% | 27% | ||
| Cash capex (before spectrum) | 74 | 58 | 28% | 217 | 183 | 19% |
1) As reported by Deutsche Telekom in the financial results for the third quarter 2020 on November 12, 2020 (except net debt, which reflects the TMNL position and includes intragroup debt). Definitions and accounting rules may differ from Tele2 Group reporting. Net debt is reported on a bi-annual basis with a quarter lag. Net debt as of June 30, 2020 can be found in the Tele2 Q3 2020 report or Q4 2020 excel sheet.
2) Financials are adjusted for special factors.
Other items
Tele2's operations are affected by a number of external factors. The current spread of COVID-19 makes the importance of the services we provide greater than ever before. Nevertheless, this global pandemic adds uncertainty to our financial performance in the short term. As a consequence of the pandemic, we increased our bad debt provisions in Q1 2020. So far, realized credit losses have not increased materially, but we believe it is still too early to release these provisions as the pandemic is not over. As our business model is resilient, the valuation of our segments (which equals our cash generating units) shows no need for impairment, and when evaluating the credit market, we conclude that we have the ability to comfortably fund our business.
In the long term, the risk factors considered to be most significant to Tele2's future development are spectrum auctions, regulation, market competitiveness and changing technology, strategy implementation and integration, network and IT infrastructure and quality, data protection and cyber security, external relationships, suppliers and joint ventures, customer churn, recruitment of skilled personnel, geopolitical conditions, environmental costs, corruption and unethical business practices and financial risks such as currency risk, interest risk, liquidity risk, credit risk, risks related to tax matters and impairment of assets. Please refer to Tele2's 2019 Annual Report (Administration report and Note 2) for a detailed description of Tele2's risk exposure and risk management.
Risks and uncertainty factors Events after the reporting period
As announced on January 12, 2021, Tele2 has made changes to its Leadership Team. The Group's Leadership Team is described at Tele2's website, www. tele2.com, under the Governance section.
On January 19, 2021, Tele2 and Telenor bought 100 MHz in the Swedish 3.5GHz spectrum auction through its network joint venture Net4Mobility. The spectrum is valid until December 31, 2045, and was purchased for SEK 665.5 million, of which 50 percent will be funded by Tele2.
Financial calendar
Tele2 will release its financial and operating results for the period ending March 31, 2021 on April 22, 2021.
The Annual Report for 2020 will be released on March 25, 2021 and will be available on www.tele2.com.
Auditors' review report
This interim report has not been subject to specific review by the company's auditors.
Board's assurance
The Board of Directors and CEO declare that the interim report provides a fair overview of the parent company's and Group's operations, their financial position and performance, and describes material risks and uncertainties facing the parent company and other companies in the Group.
Stockholm, February 2, 2021 Tele2 AB
Carla Smits-Nusteling Chairman
Deputy Chairman
Andrew Barron Anders Björkman Cynthia Gordon
Eva Lindqvist Georgi Ganev Lars-Åke Norling
Kjell Johnsen President and CEO
Q4 2020 PRESENTATION
Tele2 will host a presentation, with the possibility to join through a conference call, for the global financial community at 10:00 am CET (09:00 am GMT/04:00 am EST) on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. The presentation will be held in English and also made available as a webcast on Tele2's website: www.tele2.com.
This information is information that Tele2 AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out below, at 07:00 am CET on February 2, 2021.
Dial-in information:
To ensure that you are connected to the conference call, please dial in a few minutes before the start of the conference call to register your attendance.
Dial-in numbers:
SE: +46 (0) 8 50 69 21 80 UK: +44 (0) 2071 928000 US: +1 631 510 74 95
Marcus Lindberg
Head of Investor Relations Telephone: +46 (0)73 439 25 40
Tele2 AB
Company registration nr: 556410-8917 Skeppsbron 18 P.O. Box 2094 SE–103 13 Stockholm Sweden Tel + 46 (0) 8 5620 0060 www.tele2.com
Visit our website: www.tele2.com
Contacts Appendices
Condensed consolidated income statement Condensed consolidated comprehensive income Condensed consolidated balance sheet Condensed consolidated cash flow statement Condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity Parent company Notes Non-IFRS measures
Condensed consolidated income statement
| SEK million | Note | Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2, 3 | 6,884 | 7,163 | 26,554 | 27,203 |
| Cost of services provided and equipment sold | 2, 3 | -4,015 | -4,321 | -15,098 | -16,427 |
| Gross profit | 2,870 | 2,842 | 11,456 | 10,776 | |
| Selling expenses | 2, 3 | -1,106 | -1,059 | -4,467 | -4,288 |
| Administrative expenses | 2, 3 | -504 | -649 | -2,087 | -2,590 |
| Result from shares in associated companies and joint ventures | 4 | 255 | -20 | 311 | -97 |
| Other operating income | 3 | 2,098 | 65 | 2,350 | 292 |
| Other operating expenses | 3 | -56 | -54 | -193 | -281 |
| Operating profit | 3 | 3,557 | 1,125 | 7,371 | 3,812 |
| Interest income | 8 | 8 | 23 | 29 | |
| Interest expenses | -111 | -118 | -491 | -483 | |
| Other financial items | -10 | -11 | -49 | 10 | |
| Profit after financial items | 3,444 | 1,004 | 6,855 | 3,367 | |
| Income tax | 3 | 1,032 | -251 | 378 | -936 |
| Net profit, continuing operations | 4,476 | 753 | 7,233 | 2,431 | |
| Net profit discontinued operations | 10 | -358 | 190 | 175 | 2,703 |
| Net profit, total operations | 4,118 | 943 | 7,408 | 5,134 | |
| Continuing operations | |||||
| Attributable to: | |||||
| Equity holders of the parent company | 4,476 | 753 | 7,233 | 2,431 | |
| Net profit, continuing operations | 4,476 | 753 | 7,233 | 2,431 | |
| Earnings per share (SEK) | 8 | 6.50 | 1.10 | 10.51 | 3.54 |
| Earnings per share, after dilution (SEK) | 8 | 6.46 | 1.09 | 10.45 | 3.52 |
| Total operations | |||||
| Attributable to: | |||||
| Equity holders of the parent company | 4,118 | 943 | 7,408 | 5,004 | |
| Non-controlling interests | — | 0 | — | 131 | |
| Net profit, total operations | 4,118 | 943 | 7,408 | 5,134 | |
| Earnings per share (SEK) | 8 | 5.98 | 1.37 | 10.76 | 7.28 |
| Earnings per share, after dilution (SEK) | 8 | 5.95 | 1.36 | 10.71 | 7.24 |
Condensed consolidated comprehensive income
| SEK million | Note | Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NET PROFIT | 4,118 | 943 | 7,408 | 5,134 | |
| Components not to be reclassified to net profit | |||||
| Pensions, actuarial gains/losses | 5 | 40 | 58 | -104 | |
| Pensions, actuarial gains/losses, tax effect | -1 | -8 | -12 | 22 | |
| Components not to be reclassified to net profit/loss | 4 | 32 | 46 | -82 | |
| Components that may be reclassified to net profit | |||||
| Translation differences in foreign operations | -292 | -233 | -184 | 197 | |
| Tax effect on above | — | 8 | -4 | -29 | |
| Reversed cumulative translation differences from divested companies | 3, 10 | -1,832 | 16 | -1,480 | -247 |
| Tax effect on above | 3, 10 | -1,280 | — | -1,438 | -168 |
| Translation differences in associated companies | 4 | -350 | -197 | -278 | 150 |
| Translation differences | -3,754 | -406 | -3,384 | -98 | |
| Hedge of net investments in foreign operations | 164 | 96 | 129 | -51 | |
| Tax effect on above | -35 | -21 | -28 | 11 | |
| Reversed cumulative hedge from divested companies | 10 | — | — | -143 | 721 |
| Tax effect on above | 10 | — | — | 41 | -169 |
| Hedge of net investments | 129 | 75 | -1 | 512 | |
| Exchange rate differences | -3,626 | -331 | -3,385 | 414 | |
| Profit arising on changes in fair value of hedging instruments | 8 | 19 | 27 | 29 | |
| Reclassified cumulative profit/loss to income statement | -4 | -8 | -21 | -14 | |
| Tax effect on cash flow hedges | -1 | -3 | -1 | 1 | |
| Cash flow hedges | 3 | 8 | 5 | 16 | |
| Components that may be reclassified to net profit/loss | -3,623 | -322 | -3,380 | 429 | |
| OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE PERIOD, NET OF TAX | -3,619 | -290 | -3,334 | 347 | |
| TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE PERIOD | 499 | 653 | 4,074 | 5,482 | |
| Attributable to: | |||||
| Equity holders of the parent company | 499 | 652 | 4,074 | 5,502 | |
| Non-controlling interests | — | 0 | — | -21 | |
| TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE PERIOD | 499 | 653 | 4,074 | 5,482 |
Condensed consolidated balance sheet
| SEK million Note |
Dec 31 2020 |
Dec 31 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | ||
| Goodwill | 29,651 | 29,744 |
| Other intangible assets | 17,269 | 18,397 |
| Intangible assets | 46,921 | 48,140 |
| Tangible assets | 7,540 | 7,900 |
| Right-of-use assets | 5,349 | 5,713 |
| Shares in associated companies and joint ventures 4 |
7,018 | 6,983 |
| Other financial assets 5 |
737 | 756 |
| Capitalized contract costs | 493 | 374 |
| Deferred tax assets | 245 | 330 |
| Non-current assets | 68,303 | 70,197 |
| Inventories | 824 | 710 |
| Current receivables | 5,174 | 5,715 |
| Cash and cash equivalents 6 |
970 | 448 |
| Current assets | 6,968 | 6,874 |
| Assets classified as held for sale 10 |
140 | 2,713 |
| TOTAL ASSETS | 75,411 | 79,784 |
| EQUITY AND LIABILITIES | ||
| Attributable to equity holders of the parent company | 32,751 | 34,805 |
| Equity 8 |
32,751 | 34,805 |
| Interest-bearing liabilities 5 |
27,234 | 27,752 |
| Non-interest-bearing liabilities | 4,311 | 4,360 |
| Non-current liabilities | 31,545 | 32,112 |
| Interest-bearing liabilities 5 |
4,881 | 5,066 |
| Non-interest-bearing liabilities | 5,679 | 6,379 |
| Current liabilities | 10,561 | 11,445 |
| Liabilities directly associated with assets classified as held for sale 10 |
554 | 1,421 |
| TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES | 75,411 | 79,784 |
Condensed consolidated cash flow statement
| Total operations | Note | Oct-Dec | Oct-Dec | Full year | Full year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEK million | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | |
| Operating activities | |||||
| Net profit | 4,118 | 943 | 7,408 | 5,134 | |
| Adjustments for non-cash items in net profit | -1,826 | 1,791 | 1,750 | 4,760 | |
| Changes in working capital | -406 | -271 | -342 | -179 | |
| Cash flow from operating activities | 1,886 | 2,463 | 8,816 | 9,716 | |
| Investing activities | |||||
| Additions to intangible and tangible assets | -729 | -665 | -2,749 | -3,607 | |
| Acquisition and sale of shares and participations | 9 | -45 | -379 | 2,098 | 4,310 |
| Other financial assets, lending | 0 | 3 | -3 | -0 | |
| Cash flow from investing activities | -773 | -1,042 | -654 | 703 | |
| Financing activities | |||||
| Proceeds from loans | 1,538 | -51 | 3,402 | 3,981 | |
| Repayments of loans | -2,163 | -28 | -4,837 | -7,639 | |
| Dividends paid | 8 | -4,304 | -1,513 | -6,198 | -7,153 |
| Cash flow from financing activities | -4,929 | -1,592 | -7,633 | -10,811 | |
| Net change in cash and cash equivalents | -3,816 | -171 | 529 | -392 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period | 4,800 | 607 | 448 | 404 | |
| Exchange rate differences in cash and cash equivalents | -14 | 11 | -7 | 436 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period | 6 | 970 | 448 | 970 | 448 |
Condensed consolidated statements of changes in equity
| Total operations SEK million |
Note | Dec 31, 2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attributable to equity holders of the parent company | |||||||||
| Share capital |
Other paid-in capital |
Hedge reserve |
Translation reserve |
Retained earnings |
Total | Non controlling interests |
Total equity |
||
| Equity at January 1 | 863 | 27,378 | -207 | 3,306 | 3,465 | 34,805 | — | 34,805 | |
| Net profit | — | — | — | — | 7,408 | 7,408 | — | 7,408 | |
| Other comprehensive income for the period, net of tax | — | — | 4 | -3,384 | 46 | -3,334 | — | -3,334 | |
| Total comprehensive income for the period | — | — | 4 | -3,384 | 7,454 | 4,074 | — | 4,074 | |
| Other changes in equity | |||||||||
| Share-based payments | 8 | — | — | — | — | 65 | 65 | — | 65 |
| Share-based payments, tax effect | 8 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 5 | — | 5 |
| Dividends | 8 | — | — | — | — | -6,198 | -6,198 | — | -6,198 |
| Equity at end of the period | 863 | 27,378 | -202 | -78 | 4,791 | 32,751 | — | 32,751 |
| Total operations SEK million |
Note | Dec 31, 2019 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attributable to equity holders of the parent company | |||||||||
| Share capital |
Other paid-in capital |
Hedge reserve |
Translation reserve |
Retained earnings |
Total | Non controlling interests |
Total equity |
||
| Equity at January 1 | 863 | 27,378 | -734 | 3,252 | 5,576 | 36,334 | 28 | 36,362 | |
| Net profit | — | — | — | — | 5,004 | 5,004 | 131 | 5,134 | |
| Other comprehensive income for the period, net of tax | — | — | 527 | 54 | -82 | 499 | -152 | 347 | |
| Total comprehensive income for the period | — | — | 527 | 54 | 4,921 | 5,502 | -21 | 5,482 | |
| Other changes in equity | |||||||||
| Share-based payments | 8 | — | — | — | — | 102 | 102 | — | 102 |
| Share-based payments, tax effect | 8 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 19 | — | 19 |
| Dividends | 8 | — | — | — | — | -7,153 | -7,153 | — | -7,153 |
| Divestment of non-controlling interest | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | -7 | -7 |
| Equity at end of the period | 863 | 27,378 | -207 | 3,305 | 3,465 | 34,805 | — | 34,805 |
Parent company
Condensed income statement
| SEK million | Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 4 | 12 | 34 | 41 |
| Administrative expenses | -40 | -32 | -165 | -155 |
| Other operating expenses | 3 | -4 | 6 | -98 |
| Operating loss | -33 | -24 | -124 | -212 |
| Dividend from group company | — | — | 22,000 | — |
| Interest revenue and similar income | 33 | 35 | 146 | 149 |
| Interest expense and similar costs | 11 | 6 | -1,201 | -432 |
| Profit/loss after financial items | 11 | 17 | 20,820 | -495 |
| Appropriations, group contribution | 1,290 | 275 | 1,290 | 275 |
| Tax on profit/loss | -459 | -120 | -205 | -15 |
| Net profit/loss | 841 | 171 | 21,906 | -235 |
Condensed balance sheet
| SEK million | Note | Dec 31 2020 |
Dec 31 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | |||
| Financial assets | 5 | 69,110 | 47,291 |
| Non-current assets | 69,110 | 47,291 | |
| Current receivables | 1,551 | 5,391 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 0 | 8 | |
| Current assets | 1,551 | 5,399 | |
| TOTAL ASSETS | 70,661 | 52,690 | |
| EQUITY AND LIABILITIES | |||
| Restricted equity | 8 | 5,848 | 5,848 |
| Unrestricted equity | 8 | 37,392 | 21,611 |
| Equity | 43,240 | 27,460 | |
| Interest-bearing liabilities | 5 | 21,497 | 21,644 |
| Non-current liabilities | 21,497 | 21,644 | |
| Interest-bearing liabilities | 5 | 5,530 | 3,367 |
| Non-interest-bearing liabilities | 393 | 220 | |
| Current liabilities | 5,923 | 3,586 | |
| TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES | 70,661 | 52,690 |
Notes
NOTE 1 ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES AND DEFINITIONS
The interim financial information for the Group for the twelve and three month period ended December 31, 2020 has been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 34 Interim Financial Reporting as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Swedish Annual Accounts Act, and for the parent company in accordance with the Swedish Annual Accounts Act and RFR 2 Reporting for legal entities and other statements issued by the Swedish Financial Reporting Board. In all respects other than those described below, Tele2 has presented the financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2020 in accordance with the accounting policies and principles applied in the 2019 Annual Report. The description of these principles and definitions is found in Note 1 in the Annual Report 2019. Disclosures as required by IAS 34 p. 16 A are presented both in the financial statements and notes as well as in other parts of the interim report.
The amendments to IFRSs applicable from January 1, 2020 have no effects to Tele2's financial reports for the twelve month period ended December 31, 2020.
From January 1, 2020 Tele2 changed the measure of segment profit/loss to underlying EBITDAaL, please refer to the section Non-IFRS measures for the definition. In addition, the definition for operating cash flow (OCF) has been changed and is calculated as underlying EBITDAaL less capex excluding spectrum and leases.
Figures presented in this report refer to October 1 – December 31 (Q4), 2020 and continuing operations unless otherwise stated. Figures shown in parentheses refer to the comparable periods in 2019.
NOTE 2 REVENUE AND SEGMENTS
Revenue per segment
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 5,569 | 5,890 | 21,601 | 22,415 |
| Lithuania | 760 | 703 | 2,812 | 2,656 |
| Latvia | 369 | 366 | 1,424 | 1,402 |
| Estonia | 214 | 226 | 819 | 813 |
| Total including internal sales | 6,913 | 7,186 | 26,656 | 27,287 |
| Internal sales, elimination | -28 | -23 | -102 | -84 |
| TOTAL | 6,884 | 7,163 | 26,554 | 27,203 |
Internal sales
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2 | 1 | 6 | 13 |
| Lithuania | 15 | 14 | 50 | 44 |
| Latvia | 9 | 5 | 38 | 20 |
| Estonia | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 |
| TOTAL | 28 | 23 | 102 | 84 |
Revenue split per category
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden Consumer | ||||
| End-user service revenue | 3,069 | 3,111 | 12,260 | 12,450 |
| Operator revenue | 175 | 204 | 676 | 818 |
| Equipment revenue | 559 | 637 | 1,989 | 2,104 |
| Total | 3,803 | 3,951 | 14,926 | 15,372 |
| Sweden Business | ||||
| End-user service revenue | 969 | 1,061 | 3,889 | 4,177 |
| Operator revenue | 29 | 40 | 119 | 131 |
| Equipment revenue | 517 | 569 | 1,684 | 1,736 |
| Total | 1,515 | 1,671 | 5,692 | 6,044 |
| Sweden Wholesale | ||||
| Operator revenue | 250 | 266 | 978 | 986 |
| Internal sales | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13 |
| Total | 251 | 268 | 984 | 999 |
| Lithuania | ||||
| End-user service revenue | 420 | 392 | 1,631 | 1,502 |
| Operator revenue | 65 | 61 | 262 | 250 |
| Equipment revenue | 260 | 235 | 869 | 859 |
| Internal sales | 15 | 14 | 50 | 44 |
| Total | 760 | 703 | 2,812 | 2,656 |
| Latvia | ||||
| End-user service revenue | 226 | 217 | 901 | 857 |
| Operator revenue | 42 | 49 | 177 | 195 |
| Equipment revenue | 92 | 95 | 309 | 330 |
| Internal sales | 9 | 5 | 38 | 20 |
| Total | 369 | 366 | 1,424 | 1,402 |
| Estonia | ||||
| End-user service revenue | 125 | 129 | 503 | 480 |
| Operator revenue | 32 | 32 | 130 | 131 |
| Equipment revenue | 54 | 63 | 178 | 196 |
| Internal sales | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 |
| Total | 214 | 226 | 819 | 813 |
| Internal sales, elimination | -28 | -23 | -102 | -84 |
| CONTINUING OPERATIONS | ||||
| End-user service revenue | 4,809 | 4,909 | 19,184 | 19,466 |
| Operator revenue | 593 | 653 | 2,341 | 2,511 |
| Equipment revenue | 1,483 | 1,600 | 5,029 | 5,225 |
| TOTAL | 6,884 | 7,163 | 26,554 | 27,203 |
Underlying EBITDAaL
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 1,942 | 1,901 | 7,608 | 7,515 |
| Lithuania | 263 | 240 | 1,043 | 957 |
| Latvia | 138 | 131 | 556 | 526 |
| Estonia | 42 | 46 | 173 | 162 |
| Other | -38 | -21 | -140 | -117 |
| TOTAL | 2,348 | 2,298 | 9,239 | 9,043 |
NOTE 3 OPERATING PROFIT AND TAX
Reconciling items to reported operating profit/loss
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Underlying EBITDAaL | 2,348 | 2,298 | 9,239 | 9,043 |
| Reversal lease depreciation and interest | 313 | 343 | 1,245 | 1,266 |
| Underlying EBITDA | 2,661 | 2,640 | 10,484 | 10,309 |
| Acquisition costs | 0 | -1 | -6 | -72 |
| Restructuring costs | -54 | -101 | -261 | -570 |
| Disposal of non-current assets | 2,016 | -7 | 2,002 | -10 |
| Other items affecting comparability | — | 5 | 109 | -59 |
| Items affecting comparability | 1,963 | -104 | 1,844 | -711 |
| EBITDA | 4,624 | 2,536 | 12,329 | 9,598 |
| Depreciation/amortization | -1,322 | -1,390 | -5,269 | -5,220 |
| Impairment | — | -1 | — | -469 |
| Result from shares in associated | ||||
| companies and joint ventures Operating profit |
255 3,557 |
-20 1,125 |
311 7,371 |
-97 3,812 |
Acquisition costs
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Com Hem, Sweden | 3 | 2 | 3 | -52 |
| Other | -3 | -3 | -9 | -20 |
| Acquisition costs1) | 0 | -1 | -6 | -72 |
1) Reported as other operating expenses.
Restructuring costs
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redundancy costs | -16 | -73 | -120 | -417 |
| Other employee and consultancy costs | -24 | -16 | -69 | -97 |
| Exit of contracts and other costs | -14 | -13 | -73 | -56 |
| Restructuring costs | -54 | -101 | -261 | -570 |
| Reported as: | ||||
| – Cost of services provided | -22 | -11 | -52 | -134 |
| – Selling expenses | -21 | -21 | -130 | -203 |
| – Administrative expenses | -10 | -69 | -79 | -233 |
Disposal of non-current assets
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recycled translation differences | 2,033 | — | 2,033 | — |
| Other | -17 | -7 | -31 | -10 |
| Disposal of non-current assets2) | 2,016 | -7 | 2,002 | -10 |
2) Reported as other operating income and other operating expenses.
The translation reserve includes all exchange differences arising from the translation of financial statements from foreign operations that have prepared their financial statements in a currency other than the currency in which the Group's financial statements are presented (SEK). As of December 31, 2019 accumulated translation reserves related to the operations in Luxembourg amounted to SEK 3,308 million. Tele2 has gradually reduced its operations in Luxembourg and has completed the shut down of operational activities in its entirety as of Q4 2020. There are no longer any operations or staff left in Luxembourg, and the companies concerned are dormant and Tele2 has divested or otherwise terminated the business carried out through Luxembourg. Furthermore, Tele2 will begin a winding-up process. Against this background, the Luxembourg business has been considered to be disposed of in Q4 and thus the accumulated translation differences of SEK 3,313 million relating to those activities have been recycled to the income statement of which SEK 2,033 million is included in Other operating income and SEK 1,280 million in Income tax.
Other items affecting comparability
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provision for roaming dispute, Sweden | — | 5 | — | -54 |
| Provision for legal dispute, Sweden | — | — | 109 | — |
| Adjustment of expected credit loss rate, Lithuania |
— | 0 | — | 18 |
| Incentive program: adjustment of performance level |
— | -0 | — | -24 |
| Total | — | 5 | 109 | -59 |
| Reported as: | ||||
| – Costs of services provided | — | 5 | 109 | -57 |
| – Selling expenses | — | 0 | — | 11 |
| – Administrative expenses | — | -0 | — | -13 |
In Q3 2020, a provision was released related to a legal dispute in Sweden where we have now reached an agreement.
Impairment
In 2019, an impairment of SEK 469 million was recognized, largely related to goodwill in Estonia. Please refer to Note 12 in the 2019 Annual Report for further information.
NOTE 4 SHARES IN ASSOCIATED COMPANIES AND JOINT VENTURES
| SEK million | Dec 31 2020 |
Dec 31 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile Netherlands | ||
| Cost at January 1 | 6,976 | — |
| Investments | — | 6,904 |
| Share of profit for the year | 313 | -78 |
| Exchange rate differences | -278 | 150 |
| Total T-Mobile Netherlands | 7,011 | 6,976 |
| Other associated companies and joint ventures | 7 | 7 |
| Total shares in associated companies and joint ventures | 7,018 | 6,983 |
NOTE 5 FINANCIAL ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
As of the date of this report, Tele2 has a credit facility with a syndicate of ten banks maturing in 2024.
In November 2020, Tele2 issued SEK 1.5 billion of seven year bonds. The issuance was divided in a floating rate tranche of SEK 1.0 billion with a coupon of STIBOR 3m +1.03 percentage points and a fixed rate tranche of SEK 500 million with a coupon of 1.125 percent. The notes have been issued under Tele2's EMTN program and are listed for trading on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
In June 2020, Tele2 issued SEK 1.7 billion of five year bonds. The issuance was divided in a floating rate tranche of SEK 1.2 billion with a coupon of STIBOR 3m +1.2 percentage points and a fixed rate tranche of SEK 500 million with a coupon of 1.375 percent. The notes have been issued under Tele2's EMTN program and are listed for trading on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
Tele2's financial assets consist mainly of receivables from end customers, other operators and resellers as well as cash and cash equivalents. Tele2's financial liabilities consist mainly of loans, bonds, lease liabilities and accounts payables. For the category "Liabilities to financial institutions and similar liabilities" the reported value amounted on December 31, 2020 to SEK 24,669 (December 31, 2019: 24,899) million and the fair value to SEK 25,537 (December 31, 2019: 25,652) million.
During 2020, no transfers were made between the different levels in the fair value hierarchy and no significant changes were made to valuation techniques, inputs used or assumptions.
Parent company
During the second and third quarter of 2020, Group internal company restructurings were carried out, with the subsidiary Com Hem AB merging with Tele2 Sverige AB and the subsidiaries Com Hem Sweden AB and Tele2 Holding AB merging with the parent company Tele2 AB. As a result of the restructuring, Tele2 AB's shares in subsidiaries increased by SEK 22 billion with a corresponding increase in net debt to Group companies. The transaction has had no effect on the Group's financial statements. Since then, Tele2 AB has received dividends from subsidiaries, which reduced the debt to Group companies.
NOTE 6 RELATED PARTIES
Tele2's share of cash and cash equivalents in joint operations (Svenska UMTS-nät AB and Net4Mobility HB, Sweden and SIA Centuria, Latvia), for which Tele2 has limited disposal rights was included in the Group's cash and cash equivalents and amounted at December 31, 2020 to SEK 36 million (December 31, 2019: SEK 65 million). Other transactions with joint operations and other related parties are presented in Note 37 of the 2019 Annual Report.
NOTE 7 CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
| Total operations SEK million |
Dec 31 2020 |
Dec 31 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Tax deduction exchange loss | — | 350 |
| Total contingent liabilities | — | 350 |
In Q4 2020, a provision was made related to the tax deduction on exchange losses on loans to Tele2 Kazakhstan, previously reported as contingent liability. It is presented under discontinued operations for Tele2 Kazakhstan, please refer to Note 10.
NOTE 8 EQUITY, NUMBER OF SHARES AND INCENTIVE PROGRAMS
Number of shares
| Dec 31 2020 |
Dec 31 2019 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Total number of shares | 690,341,597 | 690,341,597 |
| Number of treasury shares | -1,714,023 | -2,411,044 |
| Number of outstanding shares | 688,627,574 | 687,930,553 |
| Number of outstanding shares, weighted average | 688,392,123 | 687,532,589 |
| Number of shares after dilution | 692,609,831 | 691,192,229 |
| Number of shares after dilution, weighted average | 691,924,160 | 690,751,970 |
As a result of share rights in the LTI 2017 being exercised during Q2 2020, Tele2 delivered 683,346 B-shares in treasury shares to the participants in the program. As a result of early vesting of the LTI 2017-2019 being exercised in Q1 2020, Tele2 delivered 13,675 B-shares in treasury shares to some of the participants in the program at a weighted average share price of SEK 137.62. In Q1 and Q3 2020, 20,517 and 18,788 respectively of class A shares were reclassified into class B shares. Changes in shares during previous year are stated in Note 25 in the 2019 Annual Report.
Outstanding share right programs
| Dec 31 2020 |
Dec 31 2019 |
|
|---|---|---|
| LTI 2020 | 1,499,975 | — |
| LTI 2019 | 1,313,475 | 1,395,024 |
| LTI 2018 | 1,168,807 | 1,154,334 |
| LTI 2017 | — | 712,318 |
| Total outstanding share rights | 3,982,257 | 3,261,676 |
All outstanding long-term incentive programs (LTI 2018, LTI 2019 and LTI 2020) are based on the same structure, except for that LTI 2020 have an operating cash flow performance measure. Additional information regarding the objective, conditions and requirements related to the LTI programs is stated in Note 33 of the 2019 Annual Report. During 2020, the total cost including social security costs for the long-term incentive programs (LTI) amounted to SEK 95 (145) million before tax, whereof items affecting comparability SEK 0 (45) million.
LTI 2020
At the Annual General Meeting held on May 11, 2020, the shareholders approved a retention and performance-based incentive program (LTI 2020) for senior executives and other key employees in the Tele2 Group. Subject to fulfilment of certain retention and performance-based conditions during the periods January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2022 (the "Cash flow Measurement Period") and April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2023 (the "TSR Measurement Period") and the participant maintaining the invested shares at the release of the interim report for January – March 2023 and, with certain exceptions, maintaining the employment within the Tele2 Group, each right entitles the participant to receive one Tele2 share free of charge. Total costs before tax for outstanding rights in the incentive program are expensed over the three year vesting period. These costs are expected to amount to SEK 120 million, of which social security costs amount to SEK 42 million. To ensure the delivery of Class B shares under the program, the Annual General Meeting decided to authorize the Board of Directors to resolve on a directed share issue of a maximum of 3,000,000 Class C shares and subsequently to repurchase the Class C shares. The Board of Directors has not yet used its mandate.
The Extraordinary General Meeting held on September 11, 2020, resolved to deliver Class B shares under LTI 2020 by authorizing the Board to resolve on transfer of own Class B shares to the participants under LTI 2020 and to the participants in other outstanding equity-related incentive programs. In addition, the EGM resolved that Kjell Johnsen, new president and CEO of the Tele2 Group, shall be included as participant in LTI 2020 and entitled to receive the same rights under LTI 2020 as the CEO was entitled to pursuant to the resolution by the AGM on 11 May, 2020.
LTI 2017
The exercise of the share rights in LTI 2017 was conditional upon the fulfilment of certain retention and performance-based conditions, measured from April 1, 2017 until March 31, 2020. The outcome of these performance conditions was in accordance with below and the outstanding 683,346 share rights have been exchanged for shares in Tele2 during Q2 2020.
| Series | Retention and performance based conditions |
Minimum hurdle (20%) |
Stretch targets (100%) |
Performance outcome |
Allotment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series A | Total Shareholder Return Tele2 (TSR) |
— | >=0% | 86.0% | 100% |
| Series B | Average Normalized Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) |
5.5% | 8% | 15.2% | 100% |
| Series C | Total Shareholder Return Tele2 (TSR) compared to a peer group |
>0% | >=10% | 91.4% | 100% |
Dividend
To the Annual General Meeting on April 22, 2021, Tele2's Board of Directors proposes for the financial year 2020 an ordinary dividend of SEK 6.00 per share (SEK 4.1 billion), to be paid in two equal tranches in May and October 2021.
The Annual General Meeting held on May 11, 2020 resolved on a dividend of SEK 5.50 (4.40) per share in respect of the financial year 2019 to be paid in two equal tranches during 2020. This corresponded to a total of SEK 3,788 (3,026) million distributed to the shareholders on May 18, 2020 and October 7, 2020. In addition, the Extraordinary General Meeting held on September 11, 2020 resolved on an extraordinary dividend of SEK 3.50 per share amounting to SEK 2,410 million which was paid along with the second tranche of the ordinary dividend on October 7, 2020.
NOTE 9 BUSINESS ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTMENTS
Acquisitions and divestments of shares and participations affecting cash flow were as follows:
| SEK million | Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisitions | ||||
| Mobile payments, Lithuania | — | -4 | — | -13 |
| Other minor acquisitions | — | — | -6 | — |
| Total acquisition of shares and participations |
— | -4 | -6 | -13 |
| Divestments | ||||
| Tele2 Kazakhstan | — | -0 | — | 2,343 |
| Tele2 Netherlands | — | -375 | — | 1,981 |
| Tele2 Croatia | -5 | — | 2,039 | — |
| Tele2 Germany | -39 | — | -39 | — |
| Earn out settlement Tele2 Austria | -1 | — | 99 | — |
| Other minor divestments | -0 | — | 6 | — |
| Total sale of shares and participations | -45 | -375 | 2,104 | 4,323 |
| TOTAL CASH FLOW EFFECT | -45 | -379 | 2,098 | 4,310 |
Information on acquisitions and divestments made in 2019 is provided in the 2019 Annual Report in Note 15 and Note 36, respectively. For information on the discontinued operations in Croatia and in Germany, please refer to Note 10.
NOTE 10 DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS
Tele2 Germany
On December 3, 2020 Tele2 announced the agreement to sell its German business to the Tele2 Germany management for an enterprise value of up to EUR 22.8 million, dependent upon the financial performance of the business until the end of 2024, and on December 11, 2020 the divestment was completed. On December 31, 2020 the estimated fair value of the future cash flows amounted to SEK 140 million. The fair value estimate is sensitive to changes in key assumptions supporting the expected future cash flows for Tele2 Germany. A deviation from the current assumptions regarding the fair value would impact the earn-out asset. A capital loss of SEK -25 million, or SEK 157 million in capital gain excluding negative exchange rate differences recycled from other comprehensive income, is reported. Tele2 Germany is reported separately under discontinued operations in the income statement, with a retrospective effect on previous periods.
Tele2 Croatia
On May 31, 2019 Tele2 announced the agreement to sell its Croatian business to United Group, and on March 3, 2020 the divestment was completed. The net proceeds to Tele2 was SEK 2.0 billion. A capital gain of SEK 0.2 billion, or SEK 0.4 billion excluding exchange rate differences recycled from other comprehensive income, is reported. Tele2 Croatia is reported separately under discontinued operations in the income statement, with a retrospective effect on previous periods.
Tele2 Kazakhstan
Tele2 was notified in April 2019 that the Swedish Tax Agency has rejected Tele2's claim for a deduction of an exchange loss related to a conversion of a shareholder loan to the joint venture MTS in Kazakhstan from USD to Kazakh Tenge in connection with the establishment of Tele2's previous joint venture in Kazakhstan. After appealing the decision, the Administrative court has in December 2020 partly ruled in favour of Skatteverket. The remaining additional tax claim amounts to SEK 241 million and a tax surcharge and interest of SEK 114 million. Tele2 will appeal the decision to the Administrative Court of appeal. Based on the ruling in the Administrative Court it is Tele2's and its advisors opinion that, it is uncertain whether Tele2 ultimately will succeed in the dispute. Consequently, a provision of SEK 355 million has been recognized in Q4 2020 under discontinued operations.
Net assets at the time of divestment
| SEK million | Croatia Mar 3, 2020 |
Germany Dec 11, 2020 |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other intangible assets | 166 | 2 | 168 |
| Tangible assets | 835 | 1 | 837 |
| Right-of-use assets | 476 | 4 | 480 |
| Financial assets | 119 | 0 | 120 |
| Capitalized contract costs | 36 | — | 36 |
| Deferred tax assets | 54 | 12 | 66 |
| Inventories | 91 | 4 | 95 |
| Current receivables | 857 | 123 | 980 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 32 | 39 | 71 |
| Non-current provisions | -142 | — | -142 |
| Non-current interest-bearing liabilities | -1,139 | -3 | -1,142 |
| Current interest-bearing liabilities | -133 | -1 | -135 |
| Current non-interest-bearing liabilities | -505 | -137 | -643 |
| Divested net assets | 747 | 44 | 791 |
| Capital gain, excluding sales costs | 584 | 163 | 748 |
| Sales price | 1,332 | 207 | 1,539 |
| Price adjustments, non-cash | — | -207 | -207 |
| Repayment of loans | 739 | — | 739 |
| Less: cash in divested operations | -32 | -39 | -71 |
| TOTAL CASH FLOW EFFECT | 2,039 | -39 | 1,999 |
Income statement
All discontinued operations are included below. Tele2 Germany was divested on December 11, 2020. Tele2 Croatia was divested on March 3, 2020. Tele2 Netherlands and Tele2 Kazakhstan were divested in 2019. In Q3 2020, a positive effect of SEK 51 million was recognized related to the sold operation in the Netherlands, reflecting revised provisions connected to the transaction. The positive effect related to Austria refers to final settlement with Hutchison Drei Austria GmbH (Three Austria) for an earn-out attached to the divestment in 2017. Tele2 received the payment in January 2020.
| Discontinued operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 60 | 677 | 690 | 4,269 |
| Cost of services provided and equipment sold |
-26 | -390 | -339 | -2,396 |
| Gross profit | 35 | 287 | 350 | 1,873 |
| Selling expenses | -5 | -98 | -74 | -514 |
| Administrative expenses | -11 | -100 | -99 | -366 |
| Other operating income | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| Other operating expenses | 0 | -2 | -1 | -4 |
| Operating profit | 19 | 89 | 179 | 1,000 |
| Interest income | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Interest expenses | -17 | -3 | -19 | -97 |
| Other financial items | — | 1 | — | -145 |
| Profit after financial items | 2 | 87 | 160 | 762 |
| Income tax from the operation | -6 | -24 | -51 | -181 |
| Net profit from the operation | -4 | 63 | 110 | 580 |
| Profit/loss on disposal of operation including sales costs and cumulative exchange rate gain |
-17 | 127 | 286 | 1,786 |
| – of which Germany | -25 | — | -25 | — |
| – of which Croatia | 2 | — | 247 | — |
| – of which Netherlands, sold 2019 | 6 | -0 | 55 | 61 |
| – of which Kazakhstan, sold 2019 | — | -0 | — | 1,598 |
| – of which Austria, sold 2017 | -0 | 91 | 8 | 91 |
| – of which Norway, sold 2015 | — | 37 | — | 37 |
| Income tax from capital gain | -337 | — | -221 | 337 |
| – of which Germany | — | — | 0 | — |
| – of which Croatia | — | — | 116 | — |
| – of which Netherlands, sold 2019 | — | — | — | 47 |
| – of which Kazakhstan, sold 2019 | -337 | — | -337 | 290 |
| NET PROFIT | -358 | 190 | 175 | 2,703 |
| Attributable to: | ||||
| Equity holders of the parent company Non-controlling interests |
-358 — |
190 0 |
175 — |
2,573 131 |
| NET PROFIT | -358 | 190 | 175 | 2,703 |
| Earnings per share (SEK) | -0.52 | 0.27 | 0.25 | 3.74 |
| Earnings per share, after dilution (SEK) | -0.52 | 0.27 | 0.25 | 3.72 |
Balance sheet
Assets and liabilities associated with assets held for sale as of December 31, 2020 refer to earnouts and provisions for price adjustments and similar for divested operations. As of December 31, 2019, the now divested Tele2 Croatia is also included.
| Discontinued operations SEK million |
Dec 31 2020 |
Dec 31 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | ||
| Other intangible assets | — | 167 |
| Intangible assets | — | 167 |
| Tangible assets | — | 823 |
| Right-of-use assets | — | 468 |
| Financial assets | 123 | 115 |
| Capitalized contract costs | — | 37 |
| Deferred tax assets | — | 53 |
| Non-current assets | 123 | 1,663 |
| Inventories | — | 62 |
| Current receivables | 16 | 979 |
| Current investments | — | 9 |
| Current assets | 16 | 1,050 |
| Assets classified as held for sale | 140 | 2,713 |
| LIABILITIES | ||
| Interest-bearing liabilities | 149 | 734 |
| Non-current liabilities | 149 | 734 |
| Interest-bearing liabilities | 63 | 129 |
| Non-interest-bearing liabilities | 341 | 559 |
| Current liabilities | 405 | 687 |
| Liabilities directly associated with assets classified as held for sale |
554 | 1,421 |
Cash flow statement
| Discontinued operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash flow from operating activities | 13 | 338 | 143 | 1,142 |
| Cash flow from investing activities | -45 | -424 | 2,058 | 4,004 |
| Cash flow from financing activities | 0 | -26 | -31 | 849 |
| Net change in cash and cash equivalents | -31 | -112 | 2,170 | 5,995 |
NOTE 11 EVENTS AFTER THE END OF THE FOURTH QUARTER
As announced on January 12, 2021, Tele2 has made changes to its Leadership Team. The Group's Leadership Team is described at Tele2s website, www. tele2.com, under the Governance section.
On January 19, 2021, Tele2 and Telenor bought 100 MHz in the Swedish 3.5Ghz spectrum auction through its network joint venture Net4Mobility. The spectrum is valid until December 31, 2045, and was purchased for SEK 665.5 million, of which 50 percent will be funded by Tele2.
Non-IFRS measures
This report contains certain financial measures that are not defined by IFRS but are used by Tele2 to assess the financial performance of the business. These measures are included in the report as they are considered important supplementary measures of operating performance and liquidity. They should not be considered a substitute to Tele2's financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS. Tele2's definitions of these measures are described below, but other companies may calculate non-IFRS measures differently and these measures are therefore not always comparable to similar measures used by other companies.
EBITDA
Tele2 considers EBITDA to be a relevant measure to present profitability aligned with industry standard.
EBITDA: Operating profit/loss before depreciation/amortization, impairment as well as results from shares in associated companies and joint ventures.
Underlying EBITDA
Tele2 considers underlying EBITDA to be a relevant measure to present in order to illustrate the profitability of the underlying business, and as these are used by management to assess the performance of the business.
Underlying EBITDA: EBITDA excluding items affecting comparability.
Items affecting comparability: Disposals of non-current assets and transactions from strategic decisions, such as capital gains and losses from sales of operations, acquisition costs, integration costs due to acquisition or merger, restructuring programs from reorganizations as well as other items that affect comparability.
Underlying EBITDAaL and underlying EBITDAaL margin
Tele2 considers underlying EBITDAaL and the related margin to be relevant measures of the business performance since underlying EBITDAaL includes the cost of leased assets (depreciation and interest), which is not included in underlying EBITDA according to IFRS 16.
Underlying EBITDAaL: Underlying EBITDA as well as lease depreciation and lease interest costs according to IFRS 16.
Underlying EBITDAaL margin: Underlying EBITDAaL in relation to revenue excluding items affecting comparability.
| Continuing operations | Oct-Dec | Oct-Dec | Full year | Full year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEK million | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Operating profit | 3,557 | 1,125 | 7,371 | 3,812 |
| Reversal: | ||||
| Result from shares in associated companies and joint ventures | -255 | 20 | -311 | 97 |
| Depreciation and amortization | 1,322 | 1,391 | 5,269 | 5,689 |
| EBITDA | 4,624 | 2,536 | 12,329 | 9,598 |
| Reversal, items affecting comparability: | ||||
| Acquisition costs | -0 | 1 | 6 | 72 |
| Restructuring costs | 54 | 101 | 261 | 570 |
| Disposal of non-current assets | -2,016 | 7 | -2,002 | 10 |
| Other items affecting comparability | — | -5 | -109 | 59 |
| Total items affecting comparability | -1,963 | 104 | -1,844 | 711 |
| Underlying EBITDA | 2,661 | 2,640 | 10,484 | 10,309 |
| Lease depreciation | -299 | -320 | -1,182 | -1,185 |
| Lease interest costs | -14 | -23 | -63 | -81 |
| Underlying EBITDAaL | 2,348 | 2,298 | 9,239 | 9,043 |
| Revenue | 6,884 | 7,163 | 26,554 | 27,203 |
| Revenue excluding items affecting comparability | 6,884 | 7,163 | 26,554 | 27,203 |
| Underlying EBITDAaL margin | 34% | 32% | 35% | 33% |
Non-IFRS measures – Capex paid and capex
Tele2 considers capex paid relevant to present as it provides an indication of how much the company invests organically in intangible and tangible assets to maintain and expand its business. Tele2 believes that it is relevant to present capex to provide a view on how much Tele2 invests organically in intangible and tangible assets as well as in right-of-use assets (lease) to maintain and grow its business that is not dependent on the timing of cash payments.
Capex paid: Cash paid for the additions to intangible and tangible assets net of cash proceeds from sales of intangible and tangible assets.
Capex: Additions to intangible assets, tangible assets and right-of-use assets (lease) that are capitalized on the balance sheet.
| SEK million | Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL OPERATIONS | ||||
| Additions to intangible and tangible assets | -729 | -662 | -2,750 | -3,610 |
| Sale of intangible and tangible assets | -0 | -4 | 1 | 3 |
| Capex paid | -729 | -665 | -2,749 | -3,607 |
| This period's unpaid capex and reversal of paid capex from previous period | -151 | -114 | 16 | 758 |
| Reversal received payment of sold intangible and tangible assets | 0 | 4 | -1 | -3 |
| Capex intangible and tangible assets | -879 | -776 | -2,734 | -2,852 |
| Additions to right-of-use assets | -602 | -585 | -1,204 | -1,509 |
| Capex | -1,481 | -1,361 | -3,938 | -4,361 |
| CONTINUING OPERATIONS | ||||
| Additions to intangible and tangible assets | -729 | -613 | -2,705 | -3,292 |
| Sale of intangible and tangible assets | -0 | -4 | 1 | 2 |
| Capex paid | -729 | -616 | -2,704 | -3,289 |
| This period's unpaid capex and reversal of paid capex from previous period | -150 | -92 | -11 | 837 |
| Reversal received payment of sold intangible and tangible assets | 0 | 4 | -1 | -2 |
| Capex intangible and tangible assets | -879 | -705 | -2,717 | -2,455 |
| Additions to right-of-use assets | -602 | -552 | -1,182 | -1,306 |
| Capex | -1,481 | -1,257 | -3,899 | -3,761 |
Non-IFRS measures – Operating cash flow
Tele2 considers operating cash flow a relevant measure to present as it gives an indication of the profitability of the underlying business while also taking into account the investments needed to maintain and grow the business.
Operating cash flow: Underlying EBITDAaL less capex excluding spectrum and leases.
| Continuing operations SEK million |
Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Jan-Sep 2020 |
Jan-Sep 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Underlying EBITDAaL | 2,348 | 2,298 | 9,239 | 9,043 |
| Capex excluding spectrum and leases | -879 | -705 | -2,717 | -2,387 |
| Operating cash flow | 1,469 | 1,593 | 6,523 | 6,656 |
Non-IFRS measures – Equity free cash flow
Tele2 considers equity free cash flow to be relevant to present as it provides a view of funds generated from operating activities that also includes investments in intangible and tangible assets. Management believes that equity free cash flow is meaningful to investors because it is the measure of the Group's funds available for acquisition related payments, dividends to shareholders, share repurchases and debt repayment.
Equity free cash flow: Cash flow from operating activities less capex paid and amortization of lease liabilities.
| SEK million | Oct-Dec 2020 |
Oct-Dec 2019 |
Full year 2020 |
Full year 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL OPERATIONS | ||||
| Cash flow from operating activities | 1,886 | 2,463 | 8,816 | 9,716 |
| Capex paid | -729 | -665 | -2,749 | -3,607 |
| Amortization of lease liabilities | -272 | -313 | -1,188 | -1,269 |
| Equity free cash flow | 885 | 1,484 | 4,879 | 4,840 |
| CONTINUING OPERATIONS | ||||
| Cash flow from operating activities | 1,873 | 2,125 | 8,672 | 8,572 |
| Capex paid | -729 | -616 | -2,704 | -3,289 |
| Amortization of lease liabilities | -272 | -283 | -1,168 | -1,124 |
| Equity free cash flow | 872 | 1,225 | 4,799 | 4,159 |
Non-IFRS measures – Net debt and economic net debt
Tele2 believes that net debt is relevant to present as it is useful to illustrate the indebtedness, financial flexibility, and capital structure. Furthermore, economic net debt is considered relevant as it excludes lease liabilities, and thereby consistently can be put in relation to underlying EBITDAaL when measuring financial leverage.
Net debt: Interest-bearing non-current and current liabilities excluding provisions, less cash and cash equivalents, current investments, restricted cash and derivatives. Net debt includes equipment financing from Q2 2020.
Economic net debt: Net debt excluding lease liabilities. Prior to the completion of the Kazakhstan divestment, also liabilities to Kazakhtelecom, liability for earn-out obligation in Kazakhstan and loan guaranteed by Kazakhtelecom are excluded.
| Total operations SEK million |
Dec 31 2020 |
Dec 31 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Interest-bearing non-current liabilities | 27,234 | 27,752 |
| Interest-bearing current liabilities | 4,881 | 5,066 |
| Reversal equipment financing | — | -139 |
| Reversal provisions | -1,660 | -1,774 |
| Cash & cash equivalents, current investments and restricted funds | -970 | -448 |
| Derivatives | -217 | -154 |
| Net debt for assets classified as held for sale | — | 513 |
| Net debt | 29,269 | 30,816 |
| Reversal: | ||
| Lease liabilities | -5,327 | -6,111 |
| Economic net debt | 23,942 | 24,705 |
Organic
Tele2 believes that organic growth rates are relevant to present as they exclude effects from currency movements but include effects from divestments and acquisitions as if these occurred on the first day of each reporting period and are therefore providing an indication of the underlying performance.
Organic growth rates: Calculated at constant currency, meaning that comparative figures have been recalculated using the currency rates for the current period, but including effects from divestments and acquisitions as if these occurred on the first day of each reporting period.
Reconciliation of figures are presented in an excel document (Q4 2020-financials to the market) on Tele2's website www.tele2.com.
