Telecompaper

Tele2 reported fourth-quarter sales down 1 percent from a year earlier to SEK 9.889 billion. The company attributed the fall to the sale of its fixed-line operations in Norway earlier last year. EBITDA improved slightly to SEK 2.188 billion from SEK 2.162 billion a year earlier, as improvements at the fixed broadband activities were offset by higher spending for the expansion in Russia. Net profit rose to SEK 865 million from SEK 690 million. Capex declined to SEK 1.017 billion from SEK 1.328 billion, and free cash flow juimped to SEK 1.653 billion from 704 million a year earlier. Tele2 increased its dividend to SEK 3.85 per share from SEK 3.50 and said it wall pay an extraordinary dividend of SEK 2.00 per share based on proceeds from divestments last year. The company said its renewed focus on mobile was paying off, led by growth in Russia and the Nordic markets, while its Western European markets were showing a turnaround in performance. Customer growth jumped to 887,000 net additions in the quarter, from 298,000 a year earlier, for a total base of 26.579 million at year-end. Mobile led the way with 1.045 million new customers, of which 25,000 were mobile internet subscribers. The increase was supported by the launch of services in ten new regions in Russia during the period, where Tele2 added 1.149 million new customers. The fixed broadband customer base fell by 10,000, mainly due to a reclassification of customers in Austria, while the loss of fixed-line telephony subscribers slowed to 148,000. Tele2 said its sharp focus on costs will continue in 2010, and the company forecast an annual capex budget of SEK 4.6-4.8 billion.