Tele2 reported fourth-quarter sales of SEK 10.109 billion, up 2 percent from SEK 9.953 billion a year earlier. While the operator continued to grow in mobile services, fewer fixed telephony customers and negative currency effects held back revenue growth. Tele2 added a net 803,000 new customers in the quarter, including 859,000 mobile users and 10,000 fixed broadband subscribers. The total customer base reached 30.883 million at year-end, versus 26.579 million a year earlier. EBITDA improved to SEK 2.488 billion from SEK 2.263 billion, and the margin rose to 25 percent from 23, helped by improvements in Russia and the Croatian operations turning EBITDA positive. Net profit amounted to SEK 1.099 billion, up from SEK 920 million in 2009. Tele2 generated free cash flow of SEK 614 million, after capex of SEK 1.320 billion in the quarter. The operator forecast capex for 2011 of a maximum SEK 5.50 billion, excluding any licence payments. The company also improved the subscriber and EBITDA margin forecasts for its Russian operations in 2011, while warning EBITDA may be held back in the Nordic region due to interconnection rate cuts in Norway and joint venture costs. The dividend for 2010 was increased by 56 percent to SEK 6 per share, and Tele2 will also pay an extraordinary dividend of SEK 21.
