VEON Ltd (VEON) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to VEON's Q3 2024 Trading Update Call. We ask that you please hold all questions until the completion of the formal remarks, at which time you will be given instructions for the question-and-answer session.

您好，歡迎參加 VEON 的 2024 年第三季交易更新電話會議。我們要求您保留所有問題，直到正式發言完成，屆時您將收到有關問答環節的指示。

Also, as a reminder, this conference is being recorded today. If you have any objections, please disconnect at this time. Faisal Ghori, you may begin.

另外，提醒一下，今天正在錄製這場會議。如果您有任何異議，請此時斷開連接。費薩爾古里，你可以開始了。

Thank you. Good afternoon and good morning to everyone. And thank you for joining us today for VEON's third quarter results presentation for the period ending September 30, 2024. I'm Faisal Ghori, Head of Investor Relations. I'm pleased to be joined in the room today by Kaan Terzioglu, our Group CEO; along with Joop Brakenhoff, our Group CFO.

謝謝。大家下午好，早安。感謝您今天加入我們，觀看 VEON 截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日的第三季業績演示。我是投資者關係主管 Faisal Ghori。我很高興今天能與我們集團執行長 Kaan Terzioglu 一起參加會議。以及我們集團財務長喬普·布雷肯霍夫 (Joop Brakenhoff)。

Today's presentation will begin with the key highlights and business updates from Kaan, followed by discussion of detailed financial results by Joop. We will then open up the line for Q&A.

今天的演講將從 Kaan 的主要亮點和業務更新開始，然後討論 Joop 的詳細財務表現。然後我們將開通問答熱線。

Before getting started, I would like to remind you that we may make forward-looking statements during today's presentation, which involves certain risks and uncertainties. These statements relating partly to the company's anticipated performance and guidance for 2024, future market developments and trends, operational network developments, network investments, and the company's ability to realize its targeted commercial and strategic initiatives, including current and future transactions.

在開始之前，我想提醒您，我們在今天的演示中可能會做出前瞻性陳述，這涉及一定的風險和不確定性。這些陳述部分涉及公司 2024 年的預期業績和指導、未來市場發展和趨勢、營運網絡發展、網絡投資以及公司實現其目標商業和戰略計劃（包括當前和未來交易）的能力。

Certain factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including the risk details in the company's annual report on Form 20F and other recent public filings made by the company with the SEC. The earnings release and the earnings presentation, each of which include reconciliations of non-IFRS measures presented today can be downloaded from our website.

某些因素可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中的結果有重大差異，包括公司 20F 表格年度報告以及公司最近向 SEC 提交的其他公開文件中的風險詳細資訊。收益發布和收益演示均包含今天提供的非國際財務報告準則措施的調節表，可從我們的網站下載。

With that, let me hand it over to Kaan.

那麼，讓我把它交給卡恩。

Thank you, Faisal. Good morning, good afternoon, and welcome to everyone. I appreciate you joining us today for VEON's presentation of Q3 results for '24.

謝謝你，費薩爾。早安，下午好，歡迎大家。我感謝您今天加入我們，觀看 VEON 介紹 '24 年第三季的業績。

Today, I am hosting the call from Dubai, our designated HQ, as the largest NASDAQ listed company headquartered in Dubai once the transition is completed over the next couple of weeks.

今天，我將在杜拜（我們的指定總部）主持電話會議，一旦交接工作在未來幾週內完成，我們將成為總部位於杜拜最大的納斯達克上市公司。

I am thankful for the Dubai authorities, especially it’s Excellency Minister of Economy, Mr. Al Marri, for proving how welcoming Dubai is and why it is so easy to do business in this wonderful country. I would like to also remind you that the last day of trading of our stock on the Euronext exchange in Amsterdam will be November 22.

我感謝杜拜當局，特別是經濟部長阿爾·馬裡先生閣下，他們證明了杜拜是多麼受歡迎，以及為什麼在這個美好的國家做生意如此容易。我還想提醒您，我們的股票在阿姆斯特丹泛歐交易所的最後交易日為 11 月 22 日。

And as of November 25, VEON's stock will be exclusively traded on NASDAQ Stock Exchange. This will position VEON as a frontier market's bellwether for US investors who wish to participate in extraordinary growth of Central and South Asia.

自11月25日起，VEON的股票將在納斯達克證券交易所獨家交易。這將使 VEON 成為希望參與中亞和南亞非凡成長的美國投資者的前沿市場領頭羊。

Going to the quarterly results, another strong $1 billion quarters growing well above nominal GDP growth. In the third quarter of 2024, we grew revenues by 9.8% year-over-year in US dollars, and 14.1% in local currency terms. Underlying growth, taking into account the impact of the Bangladesh Revolution, would be 16% year-over-year in underlying local currency terms.

至於季度業績，另一個強勁的 10 億美元季度成長遠高於名目 GDP 成長。2024 年第三季度，我們的營收以美元計算年增 9.8%，以當地貨幣計算成長 14.1%。考慮到孟加拉革命的影響，以當地貨幣計算，基本成長率將為 16%。

As a note, the weighted average blended inflation rate across our markets has decelerated from 16.5% in Q3 2023, to 8.2% as of now, marking a substantial reduction of 830 basis points, while weighted average blended GDP growth has stayed over 3.4% over the same period. Against this backdrop, our revenue growth underscores VEON growing faster than both inflation and nominal GDP and thereby gaining wallet share.

值得注意的是，我們市場的加權平均混合通膨率已從2023 年第三季的16.5% 降至目前的8.2%，大幅下降830 個基點，而加權平均混合GDP 成長率在2023 年第三季維持在3.4% 以上。在此背景下，我們的營收成長凸顯了 VEON 的成長速度快於通貨膨脹和名目 GDP，從而贏得了錢包份額。

Group EBITDA decreased 1.5% year-on-year in US dollars and increased 3.5% in local currency. EBITDA performance was impacted by certain identified items, such as pre-revolution disruption of business and post-revolution economic progress impact in Bangladesh, restructuring cost associated with the HQ relocation to Dubai, and charitable donations. Excluding the identified items, underlying EBITDA growth in local currency terms would have been 9.8% in local currency and 4.4% in US dollars.

集團 EBITDA 以美元計算年減 1.5%，以當地貨幣計算成長 3.5%。EBITDA 業績受到某些已確定項目的影響，例如孟加拉國革命前的業務中斷和革命後經濟進步的影響、與總部遷至迪拜相關的重組成本以及慈善捐贈。排除已確定的項目，以當地貨幣計算的基本 EBITDA 成長率為 9.8%，以美元計算為 4.4%。

During our presentation, in the next slide you will see we will concentrate on US dollar growth rates at the corporate level and local currency growth rates at the OpCo level. In Q3 2024, the growth overall was 9.8%. If you look into the breakdown of this growth, you will see that our telecom and infrastructure revenues combined grew 7.2% year-on-year, while our direct digital revenues grew 35.1% year-on-year in US dollars.

在我們的簡報過程中，在下一張投影片中，您將看到我們將專注於公司層面的美元成長率和營運公司層面的本幣成長率。2024 年第三季度，整體成長率為 9.8%。如果你仔細研究這一增長的細分情況，你會發現我們的電信和基礎設施收入合計同比增長了 7.2%，而我們的直接數字收入（按美元計算）同比增長了 35.1%。

Our EBITDA growth for the period was negative 1.5% as mentioned, impacted by identified items amounting to $36 million as previously defined. Excluding those identified items, underlying EBITDA growth would have been 4.5% in US dollars.

如前所述，受先前定義的金額為 3600 萬美元的已確定項目的影響，我們該期間的 EBITDA 增長率為負 1.5%。排除這些已確定的項目，以美元計算，基本 EBITDA 成長率將為 4.5%。

We ended Q3 with a cash position of $1 billion, of which $453 million is held at headquarters level. Gross debt is down 8% year-on-year, demonstrating effective cash management. Capital expenditures increased in Q3, 51.2% year-on-year, reflecting our inability to import equipment to Pakistan in Q3 last year due to macroeconomic conditions. CapEx intensity on a last 12-month basis for the period was 19.2% higher compared to last year by 1.5 percentage points.

第三季末，我們的現金部位為 10 億美元，其中 4.53 億美元存放在總部。總債務較去年同期下降8%，顯示現金管理有效。第三季資本支出較去年同期成長51.2%，反映出去年第三季受宏觀經濟狀況影響，我們無法向巴基斯坦進口設備。該期間過去 12 個月的資本支出強度比去年高 19.2%，高出 1.5 個百分點。

Now I will provide a brief overview of our revenue and EBITDA growth across the portfolio of our operations. In Ukraine, revenues grew 17.9% year-on-year, and EBITDA increased 6.9% in Q3. This truly reflects our team's dedication to keeping Ukraine and its citizens connected, while also maintaining a robust business performance. In our Central and South Asian markets, local currency revenue growth for the year remained robust.

現在，我將簡要概述我們整個業務組合的收入和 EBITDA 成長。在烏克蘭，第三季營收年增 17.9%，EBITDA 成長 6.9%。這真正反映了我們團隊致力於保持烏克蘭及其公民的聯繫，同時保持強勁的業務績效。在中亞和南亞市場，本年度本幣收入成長依然強勁。

Pakistan led the growth with a revenue growth of 22.6% year-on-year, while Kazakhstan's growth was 14.8%, and Uzbekistan's growth was 15.2%. As revenues in Bangladesh declined 8.4% due to the revolution, as I explained earlier. On EBITDA, Uzbekistan led at 15% growth, Pakistan by 14.7%, finally Ukraine at 6.9%. EBITDA growth was negative 5.9% in Kazakhstan and negative 4% in Bangladesh. I will run through the drivers in each case as I brief you on the countries.

巴基斯坦以22.6%的營收年增率領先，哈薩克成長14.8%，烏茲別克成長15.2%。正如我之前所解釋的，孟加拉的收入由於革命而下降了 8.4%。就 EBITDA 而言，烏茲別克的成長率最高，為 15%，巴基斯坦為 14.7%，最後是烏克蘭，成長率為 6.9%。哈薩克的 EBITDA 成長率為負 5.9%，孟加拉為負 4%。在向您介紹這些國家的情況時，我將逐一介紹每種情況的驅動因素。

Moving on, I would like to outline some important operational metrics. We added 8 million additional 4G customers year-on-year and grew multiplay customers by additional 4 million. 4G penetration rose 6 percentage points to 65%, bringing us closer to our group target of 70%. As we develop digital services across our market, there are two important growth vectors to take note.

接下來，我想概述一些重要的營運指標。4G 客戶年增 800 萬，多人遊戲客戶較去年同期增加 400 萬。4G 滲透率上升 6 個百分點，達到 65%，使我們更接近 70% 的集團目標。當我們在整個市場上開發數位服務時，有兩個重要的成長向量需要注意。

As you can see here, first vector is about existing connectivity business grows faster due to greater customer data consumption, improved retention, and ARPU expansion. Consequently, the longer a user stays as a multiplay customer, consuming one of our digital services, the greater the ARPU they produce.

正如您在此處所看到的，第一個向量是關於現有連接業務由於更大的客戶資料消耗、更高的保留率和 ARPU 擴展而增長更快。因此，用戶作為多人遊戲客戶使用我們的一項數位服務的時間越長，他們產生的 ARPU 就越大。

For example, in Bangladesh, multiplay users that are with us less than three months generate 3.1 times the ARPU as they stay with us over 12 months. ARPU jumps 5.3 times.

例如，在孟加拉國，使用我們不到 3 個月的多人遊戲用戶所產生的 ARPU 是他們使用我們超過 12 個月時的 3.1 倍。ARPU 躍升 5.3 倍。

We see compounding effect of our 4G for All and digital operator strategies in our multiplay segment. Expanding 4G access enables us to convert more single player users to multiplay subscribers who use both 4G connectivity for their connectivity needs and digital products.

我們看到了全民 4G 和數位營運商策略在多重業務領域的複合效應。擴大 4G 接入使我們能夠將更多單人遊戲用戶轉變為多人遊戲用戶，他們既使用 4G 連線來滿足其連線需求，也使用數位產品。

They spend more time with us, they churn less, and they drive higher revenue generation. In Q3, more than half of our revenues were generated by multiplay customers with a growth of 31% year-on-year. Why this is important? Greater digital product adoption across our operating companies deepens our force and increases usage in our core connectivity business. By continuing to focus on customer retention and expanding our multiplay offerings, we drive further growth and profitability.

他們花更多的時間與我們在一起，減少流失，並帶來更高的收入。第三季度，我們一半以上的營收來自多人遊戲客戶，年增 31%。為什麼這很重要？我們的營運公司更採用數位產品，增強了我們的實力，並提高了我們核心連接業務的使用率。透過持續專注於客戶保留和擴展我們的多重服務產品，我們推動了進一步的成長和獲利能力。

Now about the second vector of growth, about our digital services, which shows itself in our direct digital revenues. Let me talk about that next. Direct digital revenues are revenues generated through digital financial services, entertainment services, health care services, advertising, super apps, and enterprise services.

現在談談第二個成長方向，即我們的數位服務，它體現在我們的直接數位收入中。接下來我就來談談這個吧。直接數位收入是透過數位金融服務、娛樂服務、醫療保健服務、廣告、超級應用程式和企業服務產生的收入。

These are also driving additional revenue streams such as advertising revenues, in-app purchases, interest income and also additional subscriber revenues. These revenues are not included in our telecom business, but accounted for separately. These revenues in the first nine months of 2024 reached $334 million, making up 11% of our total revenues, up from 10% in the first six months of 2024, as we started to share with you. This 11% of our revenues grow 40% year-on-year in local currency.

這些也推動了額外的收入來源，例如廣告收入、應用程式內購買、利息收入以及額外的訂戶收入。這些收入不包含在我們的電信業務中，而是單獨計算。2024 年前 9 個月的收入達到 3.34 億美元，占我們總收入的 11%，高於我們開始與您分享的 2024 年前 6 個月的 10%。我們這 11% 的收入以當地貨幣計算年增了 40%。

Diversification into multiple digital verticals allow us to serve unmet market demand and expand our customer base, reducing dependency on a single revenue stream. Our investments in enterprise digital services such as AdTech, cloud services, and software development are paying off, positioning us to seize new market opportunities.

多元化進入多個數位垂直領域使我們能夠滿足未滿足的市場需求並擴大我們的客戶群，減少對單一收入來源的依賴。我們在廣告技術、雲端服務和軟體開發等企業數位服務方面的投資正在取得回報，使我們能夠抓住新的市場機會。

Looking forward, we are committed to enhancing our digital offerings and expanding our presence in these key verticals, driving growth and delivering value to our shareholders. I will touch on each one of these adjacent verticals later on my presentation.

展望未來，我們致力於增強我們的數位產品並擴大我們在這些關鍵垂直領域的業務，推動成長並為股東創造價值。稍後我將在演講中逐一介紹這些相鄰的垂直領域。

Let's look at our markets and start with Kyivstar in Ukraine. Kyivstar continues to generate strong growth. Revenues for Kyivstar increased almost 18% year-on-year in local currency. Despite the limited digital portfolio in Ukraine, digital revenues reached 2.2% of total revenues and grew 5 times since last year this time.

讓我們看看我們的市場，首先從烏克蘭的 Kyivstar 開始。Kyivstar 持續保持強勁成長。以當地貨幣計算，Kyivstar 的營收年增近 18%。儘管烏克蘭的數位產品組合有限，但數位收入佔總收入的2.2%，比去年同期成長了5倍。

EBITDA grew by 7% due to operational cost increases in support of the war and ongoing network and utility cost pressures. We are actively managing operational efficiency by optimizing network, IT support services, and working with our competition for shared services.

由於支持戰爭的營運成本增加以及持續的網路和公用事業成本壓力，EBITDA 成長了 7%。我們透過優化網路、IT 支援服務以及與共享服務的競爭來積極管理營運效率。

Our CapEx is up by 63% in Ukraine year-on-year as we ensure network resilience with power storage and generation capacities installed across key sites. These investments include deploying over 2,300 generators and 124,000 four-hour duration batteries at base stations to ensure continuous service during blackouts. Additionally, we plan to deploy around another 850 generators and 60,000 more batteries.

我們在烏克蘭的資本支出年增了 63%，因為我們透過在關鍵站點安裝的電力儲存和發電能力來確保網路彈性。這些投資包括在基地台部署超過 2,300 台發電機和 124,000 個可持續四小時的電池，以確保停電期間的持續服務。此外，我們計劃再部署約 850 台發電機和 60,000 個電池。

Moving to Pakistan. Actually, I am just back from an eight-day trip from Pakistan, including Karachi and Islamabad. And I'm glad to report to you that the seriousness of the government in terms of their discipline in executing IMF program is remarkable, as well as the 18 months of stability of the foreign currency rates.

搬到巴基斯坦。事實上，我剛從巴基斯坦結束為期八天的旅行，其中包括卡拉奇和伊斯蘭堡。我很高興地向大家報告，政府在執行國際貨幣基金組織計畫方面的嚴肅性是引人注目的，而且外幣匯率也維持了 18 個月的穩定。

I had the opportunity to talk with the governor of Central Bank, Prime Minister, Finance Minister, ICT Minister, as well as other government authorities. And the resolute that I have observed gives me a lot of confidence.

我有機會與中央銀行行長、總理、財政部長、資訊通信技術部長等政府當局進行交談。我所觀察到的決心給了我很大的信心。

Moving to Jazz. Jazz continues its strong growth trajectory with revenue growing 22.6% year-on-year and EBITDA growing 14.7% growth year-on-year. Pakistan is furthest along its digital operator journey with direct digital revenues now reaching 26% of total revenues growing 27.2% year-on-year.

轉向爵士樂。Jazz 繼續保持強勁的成長勢頭，營收年增 22.6%，EBITDA 年成長 14.7%。巴基斯坦在數位營運商之路上走得最遠，直接數位收入現已達到總收入的 26%，較去年同期成長 27.2%。

EBITDA grew 14.7% with lower margins, reflecting the impact of a higher proportion of non-telecom services and growth investments into enterprise and other digital services. We expect to see total CapEx to sales ratio trending lower as well, resulting in higher fee cashflow generation.

EBITDA 成長 14.7%，但利潤率較低，反映出非電信服務比例上升以及企業和其他數位服務投資成長的影響。我們預期總資本支出與銷售額之比也會下降，導致費用現金流產生增加。

CapEx increased 99% year-on-year as Jazz continued to expand and upgrade its 4G network. Please note that this 99% increase is a reflection of inability to import equipment last year at the same time. These errors have previously delayed given macroeconomic constraints.

隨著 Jazz 繼續擴展和升級其 4G 網絡，資本支出年增 99%。請注意，99%的成長反映了去年同期無法進口設備。由於宏觀經濟限制，這些錯誤先前已被推遲。

Moving to Kazakhstan. Beeline Kazakhstan is another outlier in terms of digital operator performance. Total revenues are up by 14.8%, while telecom revenues grew 14.1%, digital direct revenues grew 25.4% year-over-year, reaching 10% of our total revenue base.

搬到哈薩克。Beeline 哈薩克是數位營運商績效的另一個異常者。總收入成長 14.8%，其中電信收入成長 14.1%，數位直接收入年增 25.4%，達到總收入基礎的 10%。

This quarter, as part of our charitable donation program in the country, where we commit 1% of our total revenues every year into our foundation called Jili Jirek, we proudly completed the inauguration of a newly constructed secondary school in Kazakhstan with high-end technology facilities. Excluding the charitable donation and an exceptional item from Q3 last year, Beeline Kazakhstan's underlying EBITDA would have grown by 10%.

本季度，作為我們在該國慈善捐贈計劃的一部分，我們每年將總收入的1% 捐獻給我們名為Jili Jirek 的基金會，我們自豪地在哈薩克斯坦完成了一所採用高端技術的新建中學的落成典禮設施。排除慈善捐贈和去年第三季的一項特殊項目，Beeline Kazakhstan 的基本 EBITDA 將成長 10%。

Capex for the quarter was KZT26.6 billion, increasing 78.2% year-on-year. We are addressing the underlying demand and entrenching our network leadership in the country. Our massive MIMO initiatives and 4.9G rollout allows us to maintain network leadership and effectively competing with operators with so-called 5G services.

該季度資本支出為 266 億堅戈，年增 78.2%。我們正在解決潛在的需求並鞏固我們在該國的網路領導地位。我們的大規模 MIMO 計劃和 4.9G 的推出使我們能夠保持網路領先地位，並透過所謂的 5G 服務與營運商進行有效競爭。

Now moving into Bangladesh. Let me be very clear, our commitment to Bangladesh is unwavering. We continue to see our long-term opportunities in the country as very exciting. However, the pre-revolution disruption and post-revolution economic impact has also impacted our performance in the quarter.

現在搬到孟加拉。讓我明確表示，我們對孟加拉的承諾是堅定不移的。我們仍然認為我們在該國的長期機會非常令人興奮。然而，革命前的破壞和革命後的經濟影響也影響了我們本季的表現。

Banglalink revenues decreased 8.4% in Q3, impacted also by a new tax on revenues. EBITDA decreased by 4% year-over-year as cost reduction initiatives mitigated some of the revenue pressure and offset by higher electricity and network expansion costs. Banglalink’s capital expenditures were BDT2 billion, a 7.5% year-on-year decline, reflecting the completion of our 4G network rollout during 2022 and '23.

Banglalink 第三季營收下降 8.4%，也受到新所得稅的影響。EBITDA 年減 4%，因為成本削減措施緩解了部分收入壓力，並被電力和網路擴張成本上升所抵消。Banglalink 的資本支出為 20 億孟加拉塔卡，年減 7.5%，反映出我們在 2022 年和 2023 年完成了 4G 網路部署。

Turning now to Beeline Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan achieved 15% year-over-year local currency top-line growth, driven by increased 4G subscribers and higher demand for Beeline's data and digital services, supporting an ARPU growth of 21% year-on-year.

現在轉向直線烏茲別克。在 4G 用戶增加以及對 Beeline 數據和數位服務的需求增加的推動下，烏茲別克斯坦以當地貨幣計算的收入同比增長 15%，支持 ARPU 同比增長 21%。

Direct digital revenues in the quarters increased by 67% and reached 3.8% of total revenues. EBITDA for Beeline Uzbekistan increased by 15% despite higher energy tariffs and increased network expansion costs. CapEx reached UZS131 billion, an increase of 36.3% year-on-year, and reflecting about ongoing upgrades and expansions to our network.

本季直接數位收入成長了 67%，佔總營收的 3.8%。儘管能源關稅較高且網路擴張成本增加，但 Beeline 烏茲別克的 EBITDA 仍成長了 15%。資本支出達到 1,310 億烏茲別克斯坦，年增 36.3%，反映了我們網路的持續升級和擴展。

Looking into our DO1440, digital operator 1440 minutes strategic development, we are now reaching 103 million customers on our digital service platforms. I expect this number of digital subscribers to continue growing strongly, eventually exceeding our traditional telecom customer base.

綜觀我們的DO1440、數位營運商1440分鐘策略發展，我們的數位服務平台目前已覆蓋1.03億客戶。我預計數位用戶數量將繼續強勁成長，最終超過我們的傳統電信客戶群。

We aim to be in the lives of our customers in key verticals from entertainment, financial services, health technologies and education technologies. As I did last quarter, I want to talk also a little bit about augmented intelligence, the way we define AI for a moment.

我們的目標是融入娛樂、金融服務、健康科技和教育科技等關鍵垂直領域客戶的生活。正如我在上個季度所做的那樣，我還想談談增強智能，這是我們暫時定義人工智慧的方式。

We have already developed over this quarter a Kazakh language LLM in Kazakhstan in partnership with the GSMA and Barcelona Supercomputing Center. We have also announced a program with NUST in Pakistan to start developing local language models in Pakistan.

本季我們已經與 GSMA 和巴塞隆納超級計算中心合作，在哈薩克斯坦開設了哈薩克文法學碩士課程。我們也宣布了與巴基斯坦國立科技大學合作的一項計劃，開始在巴基斯坦開發本地語言模型。

This is what we are doing to do this in all markets to ensure our markets and customers are not left behind the augmented intelligence revolution. There is nothing artificial about AI. There is a way of using augmented intelligence purposefully. I cannot see a better value proposition than offering a better version of themselves for our customers.

這就是我們在所有市場所做的事情，以確保我們的市場和客戶不會落後於增強智慧革命。人工智慧沒有任何人工成分。有一種方法可以有目的地使用增強智能。我認為沒有比為我們的客戶提供更好的產品更好的價值主張了。

Let's now have a look to some of these different digital revenue streams. Let me start with our mobile financial services, digital financial services, where we have three important digital assets, Pakistan JazzCash, Kazakhstan Simply and Uzbekistan Beepul.

現在讓我們來看看其中一些不同的數位收入來源。首先說我們的行動金融服務，數位金融服務，我們有三個重要的數位資產，巴基斯坦JazzCash、哈薩克Simply和烏茲別克Beepul。

We have now a total customer base across financial services platforms of almost 23 million, which has increased 39% year-on-year. Last 12 months, number of transactions reached 2.7 billion, growing 30%.

目前，我們的金融服務平台總客戶群近2,300萬，較去年同期成長39%。過去 12 個月，交易量達到 27 億筆，成長 30%。

In Pakistan, total financial revenues grew 74% year-on-year, driven by a 59% increase in gross transaction value to $30 billion equivalent, which is PKR8.4 trillion. The high growth was supported by continued expansion of JazzCash's retail distribution network now reaching more than 400,000 agents and merchants end of Q3. We are now issuing more than 117,000 loans every single day, reaching 19 million customers.

在巴基斯坦，金融總收入年增 74%，交易總額成長 59%，達到 300 億美元等值，即 8.4 兆巴基斯坦盧比。高成長得益於 JazzCash 零售分銷網路的持續擴張，截至第三季末，該網路已擁有超過 40 萬名代理商和商家。目前，我們每天發放超過 117,000 筆貸款，覆蓋 1,900 萬客戶。

Another strong contributor to mobile financial services strategy is Simply in Kazakhstan. This is the first and leading digital payment card. We are seeing a healthy adoption of this service with monthly active users increasing 7 times year-on-year to 2.3 million.

哈薩克的 Simply 是行動金融服務策略的另一個重要貢獻者。這是第一張也是領先的數位支付卡。我們看到這項服務得到了良好的採用，每月活躍用戶年增 7 倍，達到 230 萬。

Simply has processed over 100 million transactions over the last 12 months up 81% and translated to a doubling of gross transaction value of more than $1 billion or KZT643 billion. Beepul, Uzbekistan's digital financial services platform also has doubled its customer base to 1.3 million over the last year.

Simply 在過去 12 個月內處理了超過 1 億筆交易，成長了 81%，總交易價值翻了一番，超過 10 億美元或 6,430 億堅戈。烏茲別克的數位金融服務平台 Beepul 的客戶群去年也增加了一倍，達到 130 萬人。

Let's move to our entertainment platforms. We are now offering services in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and Ukraine as OTT streaming services and IPTV offerings. Across this vertical, we served nearly 20 million customers in the quarter. Our growth in the quarter was impacted by the ending of ICC cricket tournament in our largest countries.

讓我們轉向我們的娛樂平台。我們現在在巴基斯坦、孟加拉、哈薩克和烏克蘭提供 OTT 串流服務和 IPTV 服務。在這個垂直領域，我們本季為近 2,000 萬名客戶提供服務。我們本季的成長受到我們最大國家的 ICC 板球錦標賽結束的影響。

Tamasha's customer base declined given the fact that the ICC cricket tournament had an impact over last year. These users sessions showing 15% decrease should not discourage you from saying that the business is slowing down. On the contrary, we see a very strong pickup and conclusion of ICC tournament, which will result in the new cycle and another hike on user numbers.

由於去年 ICC 板球錦標賽的影響，Tamasha 的客戶群有所下降。這些用戶會話數減少了 15%，但這並不妨礙您說業務正在放緩。相反，我們看到 ICC 錦標賽的強勁回升和結束，這將導致新的周期和用戶數量的再次增長。

Over the past year, Tamasha has attracted over 50 international and local advertisers, positioning itself as a top choice for brand partnerships in the country's local OTT space. We have generated close to PKR146 million in advertising revenues this quarter. Toffee, also reflecting the same decline for the same reason, is around 6.1 million active users. Similar to Tamasha, this is the result of the ICC cricket tournament finishing, and Toffee also, similar to Tamasha, continues to generate advertising revenues.

去年，Tamasha 吸引了 50 多家國際和本地廣告商，將自己定位為該國本地 OTT 領域品牌合作的首選。本季我們的廣告收入接近 1.46 億巴基斯坦盧比。太妃糖也因同樣的原因出現同樣的下降，其活躍用戶約為 610 萬。與 Tamasha 類似，這是 ICC 板球錦標賽結束後的結果，而 Toffee 也與 Tamasha 類似，繼續產生廣告收入。

Moving to our Superapps and second brands. Our super apps are no longer serving just our telecom customers. They are open platforms for every single citizen. In addition to offering selfcare to our customers, these Superapps offer a wide variety of services to everybody, including healthcare, education, entertainment, e-commerce, transportation charges in a single easy to use platform. We are now serving almost 38 million customers, growing 12% year-on-year.

轉向我們的超級應用程式和第二品牌。我們的超級應用程式不再只為我們的電信客戶服務。它們是每個公民的開放平台。除了為客戶提供自助服務外，這些超級應用程式還透過一個易於使用的平台為每個人提供廣泛的服務，包括醫療保健、教育、娛樂、電子商務、交通收費。我們現在為近 3,800 萬客戶提供服務，年增 12%。

Our second, or the way we call it, the lifestyle brands are catered to younger customers, and we just begun launching them over the past 12 months. Our most recent launch was RYZE in Bangladesh, just launched a couple of days ago, symbolizing post-revolution rise of the country with a unmatched entertainment carrier. Across them, we are now reaching 1.3 million customers.

我們的第二個生活風格品牌，或者我們這樣稱呼它，是為了迎合年輕顧客，我們在過去 12 個月裡剛開始推出它們。我們最近在孟加拉推出了 RYZE，幾天前剛推出，象徵著該國在革命後的崛起，擁有無與倫比的娛樂載體。目前，我們已覆蓋這些地區的 130 萬客戶。

Let me highlight the notable performance of ROX in Pakistan, which boasts over 460,000 monthly active users and achieves an average ARPU that is 45% higher that of Jazz, even not one year past launching the service. Similarly, IZI in Kazakhstan grew its space by 43% year-on-year and reached 680,000 users. Notably, nearly half of its customers are not Beeline customers. It is attracting customers from other operators, and it has the highest net promoter score and much higher ARPU.

讓我強調 ROX 在巴基斯坦的出色表現，該國每月活躍用戶超過 46 萬，平均 ARPU 比 Jazz 高出 45%，即使在推出服務不到一年的情況下也是如此。同樣，哈薩克的 IZI 空間年增 43%，用戶數達到 68 萬。值得注意的是，其近一半的客戶不是 Beeline 客戶。它正在吸引其他營運商的客戶，並且擁有最高的淨推薦值和更高的 ARPU。

Let me also turn to Helsi in Ukraine, our exceptional healthcare service platform, almost with the population equivalent of users registered on it, 28 million. Helsi continues to be the furthest along in terms of our digital healthcare offerings. Across the portfolio, it provides online consultations with medical professionals and is a vital part of Kyivstar's digital operator portfolio.

我還要談談烏克蘭的 Helsi，這是我們卓越的醫療服務平台，其註冊用戶人口幾乎相當於 2,800 萬。在我們的數位醫療保健產品方面，Helsi 仍然走得最遠。在整個產品組合中，它為醫療專業人員提供線上諮詢，是 Kyivstar 數位營運商產品組合的重要組成部分。

The registered patients is up 8% reaching 28 million. And please take into consideration the total population of 38 million in Ukraine. It penetrates 74% of the country. Helsi has access to almost 1,600 active healthcare institutions, up 10%, more than 39,000 healthcare specialists, up 12%. In Q3, we facilitated approximately 2.2 million appointments through the platform, a 20% increase. Our recently launched AI-based subscription service now serves 33,000 customers, demonstrating the great potential of the platform.

登記患者成長 8%，達到 2800 萬人。請考慮烏克蘭總人口 3800 萬人。它滲透到全國74%的地區。Helsi 擁有近 1,600 家活躍的醫療機構，成長 10%，超過 39,000 名醫療保健專家，成長 12%。第三季度，我們透過該平台促成了約 220 萬次預約，成長了 20%。我們最近推出的基於人工智慧的訂閱服務現已為 33,000 名客戶提供服務，展示了該平台的巨大潛力。

With that, I will hand over to Joop.

這樣，我就把任務交給喬普了。

Thank you, Kaan. For the recent quarter, we've achieved double-digit year-on-year growth in local currency revenues across our six markets, with total revenue growing 40% year-on-year and digital revenue growing 33% year-on-year.

謝謝你，卡恩。最近一個季度，我們在六個市場的本國貨幣收入年增了兩位數，總營收年增 40%，數位營收年增 33%。

Our reported revenue on a US dollar basis increased 9.8% year-on-year. This performance is despite the revolution in Bangladesh. The driving forces behind our revenue growth include gains in market share and the expansion of our digital platforms across all operations, coupled with the implementation of disciplined inflationary pricing strategies.

我們報告的收入以美元計算年增 9.8%。儘管孟加拉發生了革命，但這種表現仍然存在。我們收入成長背後的驅動力包括市場份額的成長和我們在所有業務中數位平台的擴展，以及嚴格的通膨定價策略的實施。

Excluding identified items, underlying group revenue would have increased by 60% year-over-year in constant currency. We are also seeing positive macroeconomic tailwinds in our markets, which is assisting in our growth.

排除已確定的項目，以固定匯率計算，基礎集團收入將年增 60%。我們也看到市場中積極的宏觀經濟推動力，這有助於我們的成長。

Turning our attention to our EBITDA and EBITDA margin. Group EBITDA increased by 3.5% year-on-year in local currency terms, reaching $438 million and declined by 1.5% in reported currency. Our EBITDA margin stood at 42.2%, a decrease of 4.9 percentage points.

將我們的注意力轉向我們的 EBITDA 和 EBITDA 利潤率。集團 EBITDA 以當地貨幣計算年增 3.5%，達到 4.38 億美元，以報告貨幣計算下降 1.5%。我們的 EBITDA 利潤率為 42.2%，下降 4.9 個百分點。

Our EBITDA growth was impacted by identified items in Bangladesh and cost associated with researching at our HQ. Excluding these identified items, underlying group EBITDA would have increased by 9.8% year-over-year in constant currency.

我們的 EBITDA 成長受到孟加拉已確定專案以及總部研究相關成本的影響。排除這些已確定的項目，以固定匯率計算，基礎集團 EBITDA 將年增 9.8%。

Shifting focus to key balance sheet figures. As we close the quarter, the group maintained a healthy liquidity position, with a cash reserve of $1 billion, plus 80% year-on-year. Of this amount, $453 million is held at our headquarters. In the first nine months of 2024, net dividends upstreamed from OpCos amounted to $396 million, strengthening our financial position.

將焦點轉向關鍵的資產負債表資料。截至本季末，該集團保持了健康的流動性狀況，現金儲備達 10 億美元，年增 80%。其中 4.53 億美元存放在我們的總部。2024 年前 9 個月，來自 OpCos 的上游淨股利達 3.96 億美元，增強了我們的財務狀況。

Turning now to our debt profile. Our average cost of debt is now just under 10% and reflects the blended rate of borrowing in our market currencies. Apart from some insignificant other facilities, Pakistani rupee debt generally has the highest cost and is about 28% of our total group debt, excluding leases. Our average debt maturity is now 2.7 years, 3.3 years if we include our lease liabilities.

現在轉向我們的債務狀況。我們的平均債務成本目前略低於 10%，反映了以我們市場貨幣計的混合借款利率。除了一些無關緊要的其他融資外，巴基斯坦盧比債務的成本通常最高，約佔集團總債務（不包括租賃）的 28%。我們的平均債務期限現在為 2.7 年，如果包括租賃負債則為 3.3 年。

Turning to our debt maturity schedule. We have no material maturities anymore in 2024, only smaller maturities that are operating subsidiaries. At HQ, the nearest maturity is in April 2025.

轉向我們的債務到期時間表。到 2024 年，我們不再有重大到期日，只有營運子公司的較小到期日。在總部，最近的到期日是 2025 年 4 月。

Let me hand it back to Kaan.

讓我把它還給卡恩。

Thank you very much, Joop. Let me start looking to the 2024 outlook. Blended weighted average inflation rates in the countries that we operate has declined from 16.5% in Q3 2023, to 8.2% in Q3 2024, a reduction of 830 basis points.

非常感謝你，喬普。讓我開始展望 2024 年的前景。我們經營業務的國家的混合加權平均通膨率已從 2023 年第三季的 16.5% 下降至 2024 年第三季的 8.2%，降低了 830 個基點。

At the same time, blended weighted average real GDP growth in our markets is around 3.4% for the period. As a result, six weeks to the end of the year, for the full year, we now expect total revenue growth of 8% to 10% year-on-year growth in US dollars, and an EBITDA growth of 4% to 6% in US dollar terms, assuming current foreign currency rates.

同時，我們市場的混合加權平均實質 GDP 成長率在此期間約為 3.4%。因此，距離年底還有六週，我們現在預計全年總收入將年增 8% 至 10%（以美元計算），EBITDA 將成長 4% 至 6%以美元計算，假設當前外幣匯率。

We are revising our prior local currency guidance on this call, given above considerations to 12% to 14% year-on-year growth for total revenue, and 9% to 11% year-on-year growth for EBITDA in local currency terms. Taking into consideration the identified items that we have mentioned, underlying growth in local currency is expected to be 15.7% growth in revenue, and 11.2% growth in EBITDA.

考慮到上述因素，我們正在修訂本次電話會議之前的當地貨幣指引，以當地貨幣計算，總收入同比增長 12% 至 14%，EBITDA 同比增長 9% 至 11%。考慮到我們提到的已確定項目，以當地貨幣計算的基本增長預計為收入增長 15.7%，EBITDA 增長 11.2%。

This marks a change from our previous guidance of 16% to 18% growth for revenue, and 18% to 20% growth in EBITDA for 2024 in local currency terms.

這標誌著我們先前的指導方針發生了變化，即以當地貨幣計算，2024 年收入增長 16% 至 18%，EBITDA 增長 18% 至 20%。

I would like to mention that we are very satisfied with our current trajectory of growth, given that we are beating actually more than planned the nominal GDP growth, which demonstrates solid wallet share gains in the countries that we operate in.

我想說的是，我們對目前的成長軌跡非常滿意，因為我們的名目 GDP 成長實際上超出了計劃，這表明我們業務所在國家的錢包份額獲得了穩健的成長。

With that, I would like to end our call and pass it to you and start the Q&A session. Faisal?

至此，我想結束我們的通話並將其轉交給您並開始問答環節。費薩爾？

Thank you, Kaan. We can now open up the line to Q&A.

謝謝你，卡恩。我們現在可以開通問答熱線。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Stella Cridge, Barclays.

斯特拉·克里奇，巴克萊銀行。

Hi there, everyone, and many thanks for all the updates that you gave today. I wanted to ask about the base case that you have for addressing the 2025 maturities. I mean, we obviously saw the whole core cash increasing quarter-on-quarter, and I was reading that you were expecting to receive the proceeds of the sale of TNS+ within six weeks at the end of September. So I just wondered if that happened also or would you plan to still engage in some refinancing? That would be great.

大家好，非常感謝您今天提供的所有更新。我想問一下你們解決 2025 年到期問題的基本情況。我的意思是，我們顯然看到整個核心現金環比增長，而且我讀到您預計在 9 月底的六週內收到出售 TNS+ 的收益。所以我只是想知道這種情況是否也發生過，或者您是否仍計劃進行一些再融資？那太好了。

Stella, thank you very much for your question. We feel very comfortable about the servicing the 2025 and that will happen through our operational cash proceeds as well as, as you mentioned the TNS+ sale. A portion of the sale proceeds has already been collected and the rest will happen over the next couple of weeks. So we do not see any issues with regard to that.

斯特拉，非常感謝你的提問。我們對 2025 年的服務感到非常放心，這將透過我們的營運現金收益以及您提到的 TNS+ 銷售來實現。部分銷售收入已經收到，其餘部分將在接下來的幾週內完成。所以我們沒有看到任何與此相關的問題。

Joop, anything that you would like to add?

喬普，您還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Well, Kaan, you're fully right. Based on the current upstream of cash and the proceeds from the TNS+, we will be able to pay back the bonds in April.

嗯，卡恩，你說得完全正確。根據目前上游的現金和TNS+的收益，我們將能夠在4月償還債券。

Super, and many thanks for that. And if I could take the opportunity of this follow-up option for the question as well. I mean, you're obviously speaking today from Dubai. You've communicated about the change in the headquarters.

超級好，非常感謝。如果我也能利用這個後續選項的機會來回答這個問題。我的意思是，你今天顯然是在杜拜發言。您已經就總部的變動進行了溝通。

I just wonder from a corporate structure point of view, does this have any other implications than the structure? You obviously got VEON Holding B.V. as the issuing entity. Would you plan to issue from another entity in the future? Or do you think you would kind of keep that as your kind of bond-related entity.

我只是想知道，從公司結構的角度來看，這除了結構之外還有其他影響嗎？顯然，VEON Holding B.V. 作為發行實體。您將來是否計劃從其他實體發行？或者你認為你會保留它作為你的債券相關實體。

Stella, I think those decisions will happen over the time, but we will definitely explore alternatives to it as we will be paying back the old bonds, and the new bonds will probably be issued from a new entity.

史黛拉，我認為這些決定會隨著時間的推移而發生，但我們肯定會探索替代方案，因為我們將償還舊債券，而新債券可能會由新實體發行。

Super. Many thanks.

極好的。非常感謝。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

We have a submitted question from a retail investor. Given Shah Capital’s roadmap to $160 share price or 5.5 times EV/EBITDA valuation by 2026, can you discuss the feasibility of achieving these targets and the strategies you plan to implement to reach them? What are we doing to increase worth?

我們收到一位散戶提交的問題。鑑於 Shah Capital 的路線圖是到 2026 年股價達到 160 美元或 EV/EBITDA 估值的 5.5 倍，您能否討論一下實現這些目標的可行性以及您計劃實施的策略來實現這些目標？我們正在做什麼來增加價值？

Thank you very much, and thanks a lot for raising this question. We have actually responded to the letter sent by Shah Capital in a proper way approved by our board. And first of all, we are delighted to have committed and excited shareholders in supporting our strategies.

非常感謝您，也非常感謝您提出這個問題。我們實際上已經以董事會批准的適當方式回覆了Shah Capital發出的信件。首先，我們很高興有忠誠且興奮的股東支持我們的策略。

All the seven issues Shah Capital has raised in their letter are actually part of our game plans. And we are in the process of delivering on those. So given that and given the, I think a reasonable 5.5 metric he has set for it, of course we will do everything in our control in terms of executing the strategy and achieving that value creation opportunity.

Shah Capital 在信中提出的所有七個問題實際上都是我們遊戲計劃的一部分。我們正在實現這些目標。因此，考慮到這一點，我認為他為此設定了合理的 5.5 指標，我們當然會在執行策略和實現價值創造機會方面盡一切努力。

Naturally, there are certain things which might be out of our control, like the wars and revolutions in different parts of the world. But so far, our team, I believe, has proven to be very resilient when it comes to challenges of that nature, and we will be executing our strategies as previously planned. Thank you very much.

當然，有些事情可能是我們無法控制的，例如世界不同地區的戰爭和革命。但到目前為止，我相信，我們的團隊在面對這種性質的挑戰時已被證明非常有彈性，我們將按照先前的計劃執行我們的策略。非常感謝。

We'll take another submitted question from a retail investor. What is the amount of tax savings that VEON is expecting in 2025 with the headquarters move to Dubai? Will there be any savings for 2024?

我們將接受散戶提交的另一個問題。總部遷至杜拜後，VEON 預計 2025 年可節省多少稅金？2024 年會有節省嗎？

To be precise, moving to Dubai has never been an issue about saving taxes. We do pay our taxes in the countries that we operate, and there is no particular differentiation in between Netherlands and United Arab Emirates, nor Dubai in terms of taxation of enterprises.

準確的說，搬到杜拜從來就不是省稅的問題。我們確實在我們經營所在的國家/地區納稅，荷蘭和阿拉伯聯合大公國之間以及杜拜之間在企業稅收方面沒有特別的區別。

So we are not expecting any changes to our effective tax rate. Because of our move to Dubai, there are other areas where we have prioritized our effective tax rate as something that we have to improve. And if you would remember, this was also one of the seven points of the famous Shah letter that we will of course take into consideration, most of them related to our local operations. Thank you.

因此，我們預計有效稅率不會有任何變化。由於我們搬到了杜拜，我們在其他領域也優先考慮了我們必須改善的有效稅率。如果你還記得的話，這也是我們當然會考慮的著名沙阿信中的七點之一，其中大部分與我們在當地的業務有關。謝謝。

We have no further questions at this time. I will hand it back to Faisal Ghori for closing remarks.

目前我們沒有進一步的問題。我將把它交還給費薩爾·古里 (Faisal Ghori) 作結束語。

Thank you, everybody. Thank you for joining our quarter three earnings call. Myself and the IR team is available for any additional questions that you may have. So feel free to reach out. Thank you, everybody.

謝謝大家。感謝您參加我們的第三季財報電話會議。我自己和 IR 團隊可以解答您可能有的任何其他問題。因此，請隨時與我們聯繫。謝謝大家。