ANNUAL REPORT 2015 2 TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CONTENT Letter from the CEO 4 Key Figures 2015 8 Highlights 10 Financial Calendar 2016 11 Impact 12 Our People 13 Telenor Group’s Operations 14 Board of Directors 16 Board of Directors’ Report 18 Sustainability Report 2015 43 Financial Statements Telenor Group Consolidated Income Statement 68 Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income 69 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position 70 Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 71 Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity 72 Notes to the Financial Statements 73 Financial Statements Telenor ASA Income Statement 136 Statement of Comprehensive Income 137 Statement of Financial Position 138 Statement of Cash Flows 139 Statement of Changes in Equity 140 Notes to the Financial Statements 141 Responsibility Statement 154 Statement from the Corporate Assembly of Telenor ASA 155 Auditor’s Report 2015 156 TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2015 3 4 TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2015 INTRODUCTION Letter from the CEO INTRODUCTION TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2015 5 More than moving towards a digital future, many of us are living digital – with connected homes and connected cars in connected communities. Digitization isn’t a development in telecoms or in the ICT industry, it’s a revolution affecting every part of society, every industry and everyone’s lives. In its 160th year of operations, Telenor yet Telenor Banka is serving more than 100,000 again delivered strong performance and customers with user friendly mobile-first growth. It was also a year of transition, banking services. change and challenges. Mobile and digital communication is for all. Overall, the company delivered record high This realization has fueled Telenor’s revenues and EBITDA for the year. Our international expansion for the past two Myanmar operations reported positive decades, and brought the company into EBITDA only a few months after service markets in Europe and Asia. Five years ago, launch. We launched 4G services in Bulgaria we announced the ambition to bring Internet and expanded 4G across Thailand. In April, for All and while we still have some way to we launched the Thor 7 satellite. In addition go, we see that this ambition is within reach. to growth in our core business and customer A country like Myanmar, where internet base, our video conferencing service connectivity was made widely available over appear.in has surpassed more than 300,000 mobile networks only in late 2014, access is active users, and our trusted cloud storage already comparable to advanced markets solution Capture has been rolled out to like Malaysia and Sweden. customers across seven markets. In Serbia, 6 TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2015 INTRODUCTION In mature markets demand for data This strategic ambition is built around an rooted in highly efficient core telecoms connectivity, higher speed and better aspiration to become our customers’ operations. Our future journey will be capacity continues to soar. Last year, data favourite partner in digital life. enabled by the concerted efforts and traffic in Norway more than doubled and collective brainpower of a global, winning Telenor continues to invest over NOK 4 2015 has been a challenging year for team that I’m incredibly proud to be leading. billion every year in upgrading infrastructure Telenor in relation to our minority ownership and networks. In Thailand, smartphone of 33 per cent in VimpelCom. Telenor has users now report spending up to six hours taken the investigations against VimpelCom per day on their devices. More than moving very seriously and has cooperated with the Best regards, towards a digital future, many of us are living investigating authorities as a witness. The digital – with connected homes and Board initiated a review into Telenor’s connected cars in connected communities. shareholding and handling of the ownership Digitization isn’t a development in telecoms in VimpelCom to be concluded in spring or in the ICT industry; it’s a revolution 2016. In addition to the review on Sigve Brekke affecting every part of society, every VimpelCom, the Board also resolved an President and CEO Telenor Group industry and everyone’s lives. external review to identify improvements of the governance of Telenor’s ownership and 2015 was also a year of transition and follow-up of Telenor’s various operations as change. Telenor’s CEO for 13 years, Jon well as an external maturity review of Fredrik Baksaas, stepped down in August, Telenor’s anti-corruption programme. We leaving behind a legacy of growth, anticipate that the results of the external expansion and building a common culture. In reviews will give us a broad basis for addition, we welcomed Gunn Wærsted as strengthening our organization going Telenor ASA’s new Chair as of January 14, forward. 2016. Telenor relies on trust; from customers, from When taking the helm as Group CEO in our employees and business partners, and August 2015, I initiated changes to the from society at large. We are proud of our organization and to the strategy process. vision to “Empower Societies” and we The new Group Executive Management has believe the Telenor Way, our people and our fewer layers and enables me to have a more culture are our strongest tools to safeguard direct relationship with the business. The the responsible and sustainable business team also better reflects the global reach of practices that Telenor is known for. We Telenor Group: 98 per cent of our customers continuously work to further enhance, and the majority of our employees are non- strengthen and integrate the Telenor Way in Norwegians. The top leadership team now all parts of our operations. has seven nationalities based in 12 different countries. But while cultural diversity has At the end of 2015, Telenor passed the improved, I am not satisfied with the gender milestone of 200 million customers. We diversity. Addressing this, both at top level continue pushing to bring Internet for All and and throughout the organization, is a priority 38 per cent of our customer base are now and an area where we have set clear targets active data users. Five per cent organic and timelines to improve. revenue growth and five per cent organic EBITDA growth in 2015 shows the strength Telenor remains committed to deliver of our portfolio of operations. It will be my profitable growth driven by increasing data key priority to secure focus on profitable usage, and aims to do so by balancing growth and cost efficiency in 2016. growth ambitions with value creation and cost efficiency. We believe this means Telenor will evolve into an increasingly digital offering attractive consumer services, company with a broader set of engaging digitizing our core telco processes and products and services reaching an even exploring opportunities in digital businesses. larger number of customers, yet deeply INTRODUCTION TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2015 7 Telenor will evolve into an increasingly digital company with a broader set of engaging products and services reaching an even larger number of customers, yet deeply rooted in highly efficient core telecoms operations. – Sigve Brekke 8 TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2015 INTRODUCTION Key Figures 2015 NOK in millions 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Organic revenue growth1) 7% 5% 1% 3% 5% EBITDA before other income and other expenses/Revenues (%) 31.0% 32.3% 34.5% 34.5% 34.5% EBIT margin 10.5% 9.6% 20.5% 22.4% 17.8% Capex excl. licences and spectrum/Revenues (%) 11.6% 12.1% 14.1% 15.6% 18.4% Net interest-bearing liabilities2) 17 231 33 082 39 395 46 830 54 106 Net interest-bearing liabilities/EBITDA 0.57 1.03 1.12 1.16 1.25 Earnings per share 4.45 5.63 5.74 6.03 2.27 ROCE3) 7.5% 11.0% 13.8% 10.7% 13.6% Total return4) 7.8% 20.1% 34.9% 10.0% 2.2% 1) Organic revenue is defined as revenue adjusted for the effects of acquisition and disposal of operations and currency effects. 2) Net interest-bearing liabilities excluding net present value of licence liabilities. 3) Return on capital employed (ROCE) is based on Net Income excluding financial items, other income, other expense, write downs of associated companies and joint ventures, gain/loss on disposal of associated companies and joint ventures. 4) Dividends are reinvested on ex-dates. Disclaimer This report contains statements regarding the future in connection with Telenor’s growth initiatives, profit figures, outlook,strategies and objectives. All statements regarding the future are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, and many factors can lead to actual profits and developments deviating substantially from what has been expressed or implied in such statements. INTRODUCTION TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2015 9 Revenues in 2015 increased by 15 per cent margin before other income and other to 128 billion kroner compared with a year expenses in the range of 33%-34%, and earlier. The organic revenue growth was 5 capital expenditure as a proportion of 2015 per cent. EBITDA before other income and revenues, excluding licences and spectrum, expenses rose by 15 per cent to 44 billion in the range of 17% to 19%. Record high revenues kroner, while the corresponding EBITDA and all-time high margin remained stable at 34.5 per cent EBITDA from 2014. For 2016, Telenor expects organic revenue growth in the range of 2% to 4%, EBITDA REVENUES EBITDA In NOK billions In NOK billions 150 50 120 40 90 30 60 20 30 10 0 0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 CAPEX excl. licences and spectrum MOBILE SUBSCRIPTIONS In NOK billions In millions 25 250 20 200 15 150 10 100 5 50 0 0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 10 TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2015 INTRODUCTION Highlights Connecting the world has been Telenor’s Ltd., operating in 14 markets.