Telia Co., the Swedish telecommunications operator, announced that it will maintain its dividend after reporting adjusted earnings that were in line with expectations. The company’s telecommunications business experienced growth, while its television and media unit began to show signs of a turnaround.
In the fourth quarter, Telia’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased by 7.4% to SEK 7.49 billion ($717.4 million). This figure aligns with the SEK 7.78 billion expected in a FactSet poll. The company’s net loss decreased to SEK 2.85 billion from SEK 18.8 billion. Analysts had anticipated a profit of SEK 1.16 billion. However, these earnings were affected by SEK 4.77 billion worth of impairments.
Telia’s revenue for the quarter rose by 0.9% to SEK 23.1 billion, slightly surpassing the expected SEK 23.07 billion.
Chief Executive Allison Kirkby expressed optimism for the future, saying, “Looking ahead to 2024, the Telia management team expects the current business momentum to continue.” The company anticipates low single-digit growth in like-for-like service revenue for 2024 and low-to-mid single-digit growth in adjusted EBITDA.
Telia estimates that capital expenditure, excluding fees for licenses, spectrum, and right of use assets, will be approximately SEK 14 billion. Furthermore, they expect the structural portion of operational free cash flow to range between SEK 7 billion and SEK 8 billion.
As for dividends, Telia has proposed maintaining the same dividend of SEK 2 for 2023 as the previous year.