VEON Ltd (VEON) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to VEON's Q1 '26 results presentation. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today. If you have any objections, please disconnect at this time.

您好，歡迎參加 VEON 2026 年第一季（Q1 '26）業績簡報會。（接線員指示）提醒各位，本次會議將於今日錄音。如有任何異議，請立即中斷連線。

Anand Ramachandran, you may begin.

Anand Ramachandran，您可以開始了。

Thank you. Good morning and good afternoon to everyone joining us for VEON's first-quarter results. My name is Anand Ramachandran, Chief Corporate Development Officer at VEON. Joining me today are our Group CEO, Mr. Kaan Terzioglu, and next to him, our Group CFO, Mr. Burak Ozer.

謝謝。各位參加 VEON 第一季業績說明會的朋友，早安與午安。我是 Anand Ramachandran，VEON 企業發展長（Chief Corporate Development Officer）。今天與我一同出席的有集團執行長 Kaan Terzioglu 先生，以及坐在他旁邊的集團財務長 Burak Ozer 先生。

As usual, Kaan will begin with our strategic and operational highlights, followed by Burak with a review of our financial performance, and we'll then open up the call for Q&A.

如同往常，Kaan 將先分享我們的策略與營運重點，接著由 Burak 回顧財務表現，之後我們將開放問答。

Before we begin, please note that today's presentation contains forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties. Further details are available in all our SEC filings, including our Form 20-F. Our earnings release and presentation are available on our Investor Relations website.

在開始之前，請注意今日簡報包含前瞻性陳述，涉及風險與不確定性。更多細節請參閱我們向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的各項文件，包括 Form 20-F。我們的財報新聞稿與簡報已公布於投資人關係網站。

With that, let me hand it over to Kaan.

那麼，我把時間交給 Kaan。

Thank you, Anand. VEON has entered 2026 with clear momentum, double-digit growth, accelerating digital revenues, stronger cash generation and continued capital returns. Revenues in US dollars grew 17% year-on-year. EBITDA increased 17.7%, and margins expanded by 20 basis points.

謝謝你，Anand。VEON 以明確的動能進入 2026 年：雙位數成長、數位營收加速、現金創造能力更強，以及持續回饋資本。以美元計，營收年增 17%。EBITDA 成長 17.7%，利潤率擴張 20 個基點。

Importantly, this growth translated into strong cash generation with equity free cash flow up 73.4% year-on-year to $246 million. This performance reflects the strength of our digital operator strategy, combining resilient connectivity, fast scaling digital platforms and disciplined capital allocation. As a result, we are raising our 2026 revenue outlook, which I will return to later.

更重要的是，這些成長轉化為強勁的現金創造能力：股權自由現金流（equity free cash flow）年增 73.4% 至 2.46 億美元。此表現反映我們「數位營運商」策略的實力，結合具韌性的連線服務、快速擴張的數位平台，以及嚴謹的資本配置。因此，我們上調 2026 年營收展望，稍後我會再說明。

Second, we are seeing strong acceleration across our digital portfolio. Digital revenues grew 57.7% year-on-year and now represents over 25% of our group revenues. Importantly, this growth is increasingly profitable with EBITDA margins of 34.6%.

第二，我們看到數位投資組合全面加速。數位營收年增 57.7%，目前已占集團營收超過 25%。重要的是，這項成長的獲利性也在提升，EBITDA 利潤率達 34.6%。

This quarter, we also refined our reporting by including enterprise identity and credentials management within digital enterprise. These are mature services that are increasingly shifting from traditional A2P messaging towards API-based platforms. On a comparable basis, excluding this reclassification, our digital revenues actually grew over 75%.

本季我們也調整了報表呈現方式，將企業身分識別與憑證管理納入數位企業（digital enterprise）。這些是成熟服務，正日益從傳統 A2P 訊息轉向以 API 為基礎的平台。以可比基礎計算，若排除此項重分類，我們的數位營收實際成長超過 75%。

Third, we continue to execute multiple growth levers within disciplined asset-light framework. In Pakistan, we secured the largest spectrum allocation in the March spectrum auction, strengthening capacity and supporting future growth. We are expanding our financial services footprint and our acquisitions of TPL Insurance and Apna Bank acquisitions to come are on the right course. We are deepening our ecosystem through targeted acquisitions, such as OLX and Tabletki. These initiatives enhance engagement, expand monetization opportunities and reinforce our long-term growth platforms.

第三，我們在嚴謹的輕資產（asset-light）框架下，持續推進多項成長槓桿。在巴基斯坦，我們於 3 月頻譜拍賣中取得最大頻譜配置，強化容量並支撐未來成長。我們正擴大金融服務版圖，對 TPL Insurance 的收購以及即將進行的 Apna Bank 收購均按計畫推進。我們也透過具針對性的收購深化生態系，例如 OLX 與 Tabletki。這些舉措提升用戶互動、擴大變現機會，並強化我們的長期成長平台。

Finally, we remain firmly focused on shareholder value. We continue to believe our shares do not reflect the value and cash generation of the business, and we are acting on that conviction through our buyback program. At the same time, we are reducing leverage and maintaining financial flexibility. Management ownership remains a key signal of alignment, reinforcing our confidence in the value we are building.

最後，我們仍堅定聚焦股東價值。我們持續認為公司股價尚未反映業務價值與現金創造能力，因此透過庫藏股回購計畫來落實這項信念。同時，我們也在降低槓桿並維持財務彈性。管理層持股仍是重要的對齊訊號，進一步強化我們對所創造價值的信心。

Let us review our Q1 financial performance. Let's move to the next slide. Our strategy is translating into strong high-quality financial performance. Both Telecom and Digital segments are contributing meaningfully to profitability and cash flow, demonstrating the strength of our integrated model. Telecom revenues grew steadily while digital revenues increased significantly and now account for a quarter of total revenues. As highlighted earlier, we are encouraged by the strength of our cash generation this quarter and continued reduction in leverage.

接下來回顧我們第一季財務表現。請看下一張投影片。我們的策略正轉化為強勁且高品質的財務表現。電信與數位兩大部門皆對獲利與現金流做出顯著貢獻，展現整合式模式的優勢。電信營收穩健成長，數位營收大幅提升，現已占總營收的四分之一。如先前所述，我們對本季強勁的現金創造能力以及持續降低槓桿感到鼓舞。

Next slide, please. Our growth continues to outpace inflation across our markets, reflecting the strength of our operating model. On a like-for-like basis, which adjusts for the divestment of Pakistan Towers, Kyrgyzstan business and the acquisition of Uklon and Tabletki, revenues grew 15.4% and EBITDA grew 15% year-on-year. This reflects our ability to execute fair value pricing supported by strong demand, high engagement and increasing customer reliance on both connectivity and digital services.

請看下一張投影片。我們的成長持續跑贏各市場的通膨，反映營運模式的強韌。以同口徑（like-for-like）基礎計算（已調整出售 Pakistan Towers、吉爾吉斯業務，以及收購 Uklon 與 Tabletki 的影響），營收年增 15.4%，EBITDA 年增 15%。這反映我們能在強勁需求、高度互動與客戶對連線及數位服務依賴度提升的支撐下，落實合理價值定價（fair value pricing）。

Let us move to our Digital performance, which continues to scale in size and quality. Let's go to the next page. Digital revenues reached $303 million for the quarter, now representing over a quarter of group revenues. The reclassification of enterprise identity and credentials management within digital enterprise, which I highlighted earlier, contributed $44 million for the quarter with prior periods reclassified for comparability. Growth remains broad-based, with financial services leading and strong contributions from entertainment, ride hailing and health care.

接著看我們的數位表現，其規模與品質持續擴張。請看下一頁。本季數位營收達 3.03 億美元，現已占集團營收超過四分之一。我先前提到，將企業身分識別與憑證管理重分類至數位企業，本季貢獻 4,400 萬美元，且為可比性已對前期數據進行重分類。成長動能仍相當廣泛，其中以金融服務領先，娛樂、叫車與醫療保健亦有強勁貢獻。

We also began consolidating Tabletki from February, further strengthening our health care vertical in Ukraine. Our digital platforms continue to benefit from structurally low customer acquisition costs and highly efficient distribution, creating a scalable competitive advantage across our markets. Importantly, digital services are structurally lower in capital intensity, supporting strong cash generation capacity.

我們也自 2 月起開始合併 Tabletki，進一步強化我們在烏克蘭的醫療保健垂直領域。數位平台持續受惠於結構性偏低的客戶取得成本，以及高度效率的分銷能力，為我們在各市場建立可擴張的競爭優勢。重要的是，數位服務在資本密集度上結構性較低，有助於支撐強勁的現金創造能力。

Let's go to the next page. Multiplay customers remain a key growth driver. These customers use connectivity with digital services, and they deliver significantly higher value with ARPU now 3.9 times that of voice-only customers. This fact also helped us raise overall ARPU to USD2.3 for the quarter from $2 a year ago. Multiplay revenues grew almost 18% year-on-year and now represents 58% of consumer revenues.

請看下一頁。多重服務（multiplay）客戶仍是關鍵成長動能。這些客戶在使用連線服務的同時也使用數位服務，其價值顯著更高，ARPU 目前為僅語音客戶的 3.9 倍。這也協助我們將本季整體 ARPU 提升至 2.3 美元，高於一年前的 2 美元。Multiplay 營收年增近 18%，目前占消費者營收的 58%。

Let me now update you on the operational performance across our markets in the next page. We are seeing strong operational momentum across the board. Pakistan and Ukraine continue to lead, while Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan delivered steady growth. Bangladesh is continuing its growth for a second consecutive quarter in a row.

接下來在下一頁，我將更新各市場的營運表現。我們看到整體營運動能強勁。巴基斯坦與烏克蘭持續領先，哈薩克與烏茲別克則維持穩健成長。孟加拉也連續第二季延續成長。

Digital momentum is consistent across all markets, supporting both growth and diversification. Our focus is clear: to sustain this momentum through disciplined execution and balancing revenue growth with profitability over the course of the year.

數位動能在所有市場皆一致，支撐成長並促進多元化。我們的重點很清楚：透過嚴謹執行來維持這股動能，並在全年過程中平衡營收成長與獲利能力。

Next slide, please. Our financial services business in Pakistan continues to grow from strength to strength. JazzCash served over 29 million users during the quarter while our merchant base expanded to over 600,000 merchants. This is driving a powerful network effect. Transaction volumes remain robust. With last 12-month transaction value reaching USD60 billion, or 15% of Pakistan's GDP, reflecting a sustained growth in usage and engagement. We are also scaling, lending at pace, with over 200,000 loans issued daily, while maintaining disciplined risk management.

請看下一張投影片。我們在巴基斯坦的金融服務業務持續愈做愈強。JazzCash 本季服務超過 2,900 萬名用戶，同時商戶基礎擴大至超過 60 萬家，帶動強大的網路效應。交易量仍然強勁。過去 12 個月交易金額達 600 億美元，約占巴基斯坦 GDP 的 15%，反映使用與互動的持續成長。我們也在加速擴張放貸規模，每日發放超過 20 萬筆貸款，同時維持嚴謹的風險管理。

Asset quality remains strong and nonperforming loans, NPL ratios remain well controlled. Mobilink Bank's loan portfolio has reached $289 million and is supporting the continued expansion of our Digital Financial Services ecosystem. Together, these capabilities position us well to support financial inclusion and capture long-term growth.

資產品質維持強勁，不良貸款（NPL）比率仍控制良好。Mobilink Bank 的放款組合已達 2.89 億美元，並支撐我們數位金融服務（Digital Financial Services）生態系的持續擴張。這些能力結合起來，使我們能更好地支持普惠金融並掌握長期成長。

Next slide, please. We have refined our definition of digital customers to reflect active users in quarter one, providing a more comprehensive view of engagement across the quarter. Across our ecosystem, we now serve 229 million digital customers, including over 72 million digital-only users. Our platforms are becoming go-to super apps in our markets. Transaction value reached almost $63 billion over the last 12 months, reflecting both scale and deepening engagement. This creates increasing opportunities in cross-sell, advertising and monetization.

請看下一張投影片。我們已精煉數位客戶的定義，以反映第一季的活躍用戶，從而更全面呈現整季的互動情況。在整個生態系中，我們目前服務 2.29 億名數位客戶，其中包含超過 7,200 萬名僅使用數位服務（digital-only）的用戶。我們的平台正成為各市場的首選超級應用（super apps）。過去 12 個月交易金額接近 630 億美元，反映規模與互動深化。這也帶來更多交叉銷售、廣告與變現機會。

Next slide. Our Consumer Digital platforms continue to scale across multiple networks. Financial services, entertainment, health care, ride hailing and super apps now serve millions of users across our markets. Our premium digital brands are delivering a differentiated customer experience by seamlessly integrating connectivity with everyday lifestyle services such as health care, e-commerce and mobility. Together, these platforms deepen engagement and unlock multiple opportunities, providing people that are underserved with service quality they deserve.

下一張投影片。我們的消費者數位平台持續在多個網路上擴大規模。金融服務、娛樂、醫療保健、叫車與超級應用程式如今在我們的市場中服務數百萬用戶。我們的高端數位品牌透過將連線能力與醫療保健、電子商務與移動出行等日常生活型態服務無縫整合，提供差異化的客戶體驗。這些平台共同深化互動並釋放多重機會，為服務不足的人群提供他們應得的服務品質。

Next slide, please. We are also building strong momentum in digital enterprise. Our platforms in augmented intelligence, cloud and data analytics are scaling across our markets, supported by almost 2,000 engineers and data scientists.

請看下一張投影片。我們也正在數位企業領域建立強勁動能。我們在增強智慧、雲端與資料分析方面的平台，正由近2,000名工程師與資料科學家支援，在各個市場加速擴張。

Our AdTech platform reaches over 100 million screens, enabling increasingly sophisticated AI-driven targeting and monetization across our ecosystem. Within our Identity and Credentials management services, the focus is rapidly shifting towards secure real-time authentication as a primary defense against fraud and scams and protection of children.

我們的 AdTech 平台覆蓋超過1億個螢幕，使我們能在生態系中進行日益精密、由 AI 驅動的定向投放與變現。在我們的身分與憑證管理服務中，重點正快速轉向安全的即時驗證，作為防範詐欺與詐騙以及保護兒童的主要防線。

Let's go to the next slide please. Augmented intelligence, or AI, is a core pillar of our value creation. For us, AI is not a stand-alone initiative. It's a productivity engine across networks, customer care, digital services and enterprise solutions. We are building sovereign local language AI capabilities. Our Ukrainian LLM, Syaivo, which means glow was named by Ukrainian citizens, showing its national importance and strategic value.

請到下一張投影片。增強智慧（Augmented intelligence），也就是 AI，是我們價值創造的核心支柱。對我們而言，AI 不是一項獨立的倡議，而是橫跨網路、客戶服務、數位服務與企業解決方案的生產力引擎。我們正在打造主權在地語言的 AI 能力。我們的烏克蘭 LLM「Syaivo」（意為「光芒」）由烏克蘭公民命名，展現其國家重要性與策略價值。

Our ambition is to put AI to work in real-time economy, helping doctors deliver better outcomes, teachers reach further and farmers produce more. This is practical augmented intelligence, delivering measurable impact in everyday life. We have over 1,000 prioritized use cases across the group. Over 1.4 million customers are using our AI products across our footprint. We are focused on turning AI from potential into performance.

我們的抱負是讓 AI 在即時經濟中發揮作用，協助醫師帶來更好的治療結果、教師觸及更遠、農民提高產量。這是務實的增強智慧，在日常生活中帶來可衡量的影響。我們在集團內有超過1,000個優先用例。在我們的營運版圖中，已有超過140萬名客戶在使用我們的 AI 產品。我們專注於把 AI 從潛力轉化為績效。

With that, Burak, I hand over to you.

接下來，Burak，交給你。

Thank you, Kaan. We continue to deliver strong financial results in the first quarter. Group revenue reached $1.2 billion, growing 17% year-over-year in US dollar terms, with broad-based contributions across our markets. Digital services grew 57.7%, reaching $303 million and representing over 25% of total revenue. This reflects strong execution across both Telecom and Digital businesses.

謝謝你，Kaan。我們在第一季持續交出強勁的財務表現。集團營收達12億美元，以美元計年增17%，且各市場均有廣泛貢獻。數位服務成長57.7%，達3.03億美元，佔總營收超過25%。這反映我們在電信與數位業務兩方面的強勁執行力。

Next slide please. EBITDA reached $517 million in Q1 '26, growing 17.7% year-on-year. Margins expanded by 20 basis points to 43%, reflecting operating leverage and continued cost discipline. This demonstrates our ability to grow profitability while maintaining a disciplined cost base.

請看下一張投影片。2026年第一季 EBITDA 達5.17億美元，年增17.7%。利潤率擴大20個基點至43%，反映營運槓桿與持續的成本紀律。這展現我們在維持嚴謹成本基礎的同時，仍能提升獲利能力。

Next page, please. Now turning to the balance sheet. We ended the quarter with $1.75 billion in cash, including $457 million at headquarters level. Gross debt remained stable at $4.9 billion. Net debt, excluding leases, stood at $1.76 billion, with leverage reduced further to 1.07 times. This provides us with financial flexibility and resilient capital structure. We are also proactively exploring strategies to manage our upcoming debt maturities.

請看下一頁。接著看資產負債表。我們在本季末持有現金17.5億美元，其中總部層級為4.57億美元。總負債維持穩定在49億美元。淨負債（不含租賃）為17.6億美元，槓桿比率進一步降至1.07倍。這為我們提供財務彈性與具韌性的資本結構。我們也正主動探索策略，以管理即將到期的債務。

With that, I'll hand the call back to Kaan.

接下來，我把電話交回給 Kaan。

Thank you, Burak. Returning capital to shareholders remains a key priority. Our current $100 million buyback is underway with ADS buybacks continuing. We are committed to a minimum of $100 million in annual share repurchases subject to market conditions and liquidity. Following completion of the current program, shares repurchased under future programs will be canceled supporting long-term shareholder value.

謝謝你，Burak。回饋股東資本仍是關鍵優先事項。我們目前的1億美元庫藏股計畫正在進行中，ADS 回購持續推進。我們承諾在市場狀況與流動性允許下，每年至少回購1億美元股份。完成目前計畫後，未來計畫回購的股份將予以註銷，以支持長期股東價值。

Next slide, please. We have a long track record of navigating frontier markets. Volatility is not new to us. We are proactively executing targeted actions to mitigate the impact of recent energy price movements. Reflecting our strong first quarter performance and continued commercial momentum, we are raising our 2026 revenue growth outlook to 11% to 14%, while maintaining EBITDA growth guidance at 7% to 10%.

請看下一張投影片。我們在前沿市場有長期的應對經驗，波動對我們而言並不陌生。我們正主動執行有針對性的措施，以減輕近期能源價格波動的影響。反映第一季強勁表現與持續的商業動能，我們將2026年營收成長展望上調至11%至14%，同時維持 EBITDA 成長指引在7%至10%。

We are making further investments in Pakistan, following the recent spectrum acquisition to support future growth. Capex intensity, excluding Ukraine, is expected to be in the range of 15% to 17%.

在近期取得頻譜後，我們正加碼投資巴基斯坦以支持未來成長。資本支出強度（不含烏克蘭）預期將落在15%至17%的區間。

To conclude, VEON has made a strong start to 2026. We are delivering double-digit growth, scaling digital revenues profitably, strengthening our credit profile and returning capital to shareholders. At the same time, we remain disciplined and mindful of external volatility. Our model is increasingly diversified, resilient and cash generative, and we are confident in the opportunities ahead.

總結而言，VEON 在2026年有一個強勁的開局。我們實現兩位數成長、以獲利方式擴大數位營收、強化信用體質並回饋股東資本。同時，我們仍保持紀律並留意外部波動。我們的模式愈加多元、具韌性且能產生現金，我們對未來機會充滿信心。

Thank you for your continued support. We will now open the line for questions.

感謝各位持續支持。接下來我們將開放提問。

(Operator Instructions) Max Findlay, Rothschild & Co Redburn.

（接線員指示）Max Findlay，Rothschild & Co Redburn。

The EBITDA guidance implies a downgrade for the business ex Kyivstar and margin contraction of about 1% following Kyivstar's EBITDA upgrade earlier today. Are you able to walk us through what's changed since we last spoke?

EBITDA 指引意味著在不含 Kyivstar 的情況下，該業務被下修，且在 Kyivstar 今日稍早上調 EBITDA 之後，利潤率約收縮1%。你們能否說明一下，與我們上次通話相比，發生了哪些變化？

Secondly, and linked to my first question, I was wondering if you could provide some color about what you're seeing in your markets now as a result of the Iran conflict, and what risk there is to further EBITDA margin compression? I obviously appreciate the high uncertainty around the situation.

第二點，並且與第一個問題相關，我想請你們補充一下，伊朗衝突對你們目前各市場造成了哪些影響？以及 EBITDA 利潤率進一步被壓縮的風險有多大？我當然理解目前情勢高度不確定。

And finally, I asked at full year results, whether your CapEx guidance was a bit conservative following the Pakistan auction. And I guess I'd like to know what has changed regarding your network build plans there? Is this CapEx being brought forward, that was perhaps targeted for next year? Or is this new CapEx?

最後，我在全年業績時曾問過，在巴基斯坦拍賣之後，你們的資本支出指引是否偏保守。我想了解你們在當地的網路建設計畫有何變化？這些資本支出是否被提前（原本可能是明年的目標）？還是這是新增的資本支出？

Thank you, Max, for the question. I think second part of the question is kind of the answer to the first. We have reiterated our guidance as it is on the EBITDA side, and I would like to see the next three months to give a more clear picture about how the EBITDA growth will curtail.

謝謝你，Max，謝謝你的提問。我認為第二部分的問題某種程度上就是第一個問題的答案。我們在 EBITDA 方面重申目前的指引不變，我希望再觀察接下來三個月，以更清楚了解 EBITDA 成長將如何收斂。

If you would ask me, I do not think any margin compression will happen because we have strong control over our pricing. Our services are differentiated and the tolerance towards price elasticity is quite healthy in the markets that we operate in. Having said that, today, President Trump is in China. I would like to see a little bit more clarity on geopolitical landscape before making a change in our guidance on the EBITDA side.

如果你問我，我不認為會出現任何利潤率壓縮，因為我們對定價有很強的掌控力。我們的服務具差異化，而在我們營運的市場中，對價格彈性的承受度相當健康。話雖如此，今天川普總統正在中國。我希望在調整 EBITDA 指引之前，能對地緣政治局勢有更清晰的判斷。

Now looking into the impact we see in our markets, especially about the oil prices. Today, in South Asia, a barrel of oil goes in between $160, $180, not like in line with the Brent. And it is not about the pricing, but it is also the availability of fuel, which is important.

再看我們在各市場看到的影響，特別是油價方面。今天在南亞，一桶油的價格介於160到180美元之間，並不像布蘭特原油那樣的水準。而且不只是價格，燃料的可得性也很重要。

And I am very glad to see that actually Pakistan over time has been diversifying its energy production capacity towards wind, solar and hydro. And the hydrocarbons have been steadily declining in the needs.

我也很高興看到，巴基斯坦隨著時間推移，實際上一直在將能源生產能力多元化，轉向風電、太陽能與水力，而對碳氫化合物的需求也在穩步下降。

But in markets like Bangladesh, we have seen some availability issues over the last couple of weeks. And I hope that the liberal pricing of oil will adjust this availability issue over the time. But I think it's important to understand that the impact from the current weighted average inflation rate of 8.1% across our markets, we do expect to see double-digit inflation moving onwards. And that's, of course, something that we are watching very carefully.

但在像孟加拉這樣的市場，我們在過去幾週看到一些供應可得性的問題。我希望油品價格的市場化能隨時間調整並改善這個供應問題。不過我認為重要的是要理解，目前我們各市場加權平均通膨率為8.1%，我們預期接下來會出現兩位數通膨。當然，這是我們正在非常密切關注的事項。

With regard to investments in Pakistan, we have tripled our capacity on spectrum. And specifically with 700 megahertz spectrum getting into our fleet of spectrum, we will accelerate our deployments. It will be our coverage layer for 5G and also 4G nonstandard services as well. And that's why we decided to upgrade our guidance slightly.

關於在巴基斯坦的投資，我們已將頻譜容量提升至原來的三倍。特別是隨著 700 兆赫（MHz）頻譜納入我們的頻譜組合，我們將加速部署。它將成為我們 5G 的覆蓋層，同時也用於 4G 的非標準服務。因此，我們決定小幅上調我們的指引。

Having said that, if you look into our profile of our revenues, now one quarter comes from digital services. Digital Services, CapEx to sales ratio is in higher single digits rather than higher 20s. And that's why we believe, over time, there will be a moderation of CapEx to revenue percentage in terms of investments.

話雖如此，如果你看我們的營收結構，目前有四分之一來自數位服務。數位服務的資本支出（CapEx）對銷售比率是在較高的個位數，而不是 20% 以上的高位。因此我們相信，隨著時間推進，就投資而言，CapEx 佔營收的比例將會趨於緩和。

But still for the remaining of the year, we will accelerate our deployments in Pakistan because the average data consumption in Pakistan today is around 7.5 gigabytes per month which is one-third of what it should be. It's not that Pakistani's don't like to consume more. It's because the capacity is limited. So we believe that putting more capacity in place will give us the chance also to monetize that business.

但在今年剩餘時間，我們仍會在巴基斯坦加速部署，因為巴基斯坦目前的平均數據用量約為每月 7.5GB，只有應有水準的三分之一。並不是巴基斯坦人不想用更多，而是因為容量受限。因此我們相信，增加容量也將讓我們有機會把這項業務變現。

Great. Could I just follow up on the EBITDA margin point? I think from what I understood, you're suggesting there will be no margin contraction. But given the upgrade to revenues and EBITDA guidance staying the same, if you take the midpoint of both, that obviously implies margin contraction. Are you suggesting that we should instead be thinking about you ending up at the full year at the top higher end of the EBITDA range, if margins are going to stay stable?

很好。我可以追問一下 EBITDA 利潤率的問題嗎？依我理解，你的意思是利潤率不會收縮。但在你上調營收指引、而 EBITDA 指引維持不變的情況下，如果取兩者的中位數，顯然意味著利潤率會收縮。你的意思是，如果利潤率要維持穩定，我們應該改為預期你全年 EBITDA 會落在區間的較高端嗎？

Max, I would suggest that we wait for Q2 end to give more clarity on that. At this particular stage, we wanted to stick to the guidance that we have given on the EBITDA side. But I think our pricing control and inflationary pricing discipline will allow us to keep our margin levels the same.

Max，我建議我們等到第二季結束再提供更清楚的說明。在目前這個階段，我們希望在 EBITDA 端維持既有指引。不過我認為，我們對定價的掌控以及在通膨環境下的定價紀律，將使我們能把利潤率水準維持不變。

Nicholas Paton, Edison Group.

Nicholas Paton，Edison Group。

Thank you very much for the additional information on the Pakistan Financial Services business, which I thought was very interesting. It reminded me of the work that we did in our initiation. And I think when I look back at that now, we were considering the transactions with MTN Fintech and Airtel Africa looking at potential valuations for that business. And it looks as though the business has grown something of the order of about 30% in EBITDA terms over the last year or so.

非常感謝你補充巴基斯坦金融服務業務的更多資訊，我覺得非常有意思。這讓我想起我們在啟動覆蓋時所做的研究。我回頭看當時的分析，我們曾參考 MTN Fintech 與 Airtel Africa 的交易，來推估該業務可能的估值。而看起來，這項業務在過去一年左右，以 EBITDA 計算大約成長了 30% 左右。

And at the time, we were looking for a valuation of around about $1 billion for that business. I'm also aware that investors have been discussing a potential strategic investor for that or maybe even an IPO, have you any more thoughts about crystalizing value in that business?

當時我們對該業務的估值大約是 10 億美元左右。我也知道投資人一直在討論是否引入潛在的策略投資人，甚至可能進行 IPO。你對於如何在這項業務上實現（釋放）價值，還有更多想法嗎？

I'm extremely happy with the progress we have with our financial services business in Pakistan. And specifically expanding our service lines into insurance and potentially to digital banking products that we do not cover today. I think there is a huge potential of serving a 250 million population in Pakistan and in addition to that 12 million population outside of Pakistan as Diaspora, there's a huge potential in this particular market, and I would like that growth to show itself a little bit more.

我對我們在巴基斯坦金融服務業務的進展感到非常滿意，尤其是把服務線擴展到保險，以及可能延伸到我們目前尚未涵蓋的數位銀行產品。我認為，在巴基斯坦服務 2.5 億人口有巨大的潛力；此外，還有 1,200 萬在巴基斯坦以外的僑民人口。這個市場的潛力非常大，而我希望這樣的成長能再多展現一段時間。

What I'm even more excited is applying the same business model in a market like Bangladesh, where there is an additional 180 million population, with also a strong Diaspora footprint. And I think our intentions of at certain point, opening up this as an investment opportunity stays, but we will not worry as we see the growth rates actually are still allowing us to develop the business.

更讓我興奮的是，把同樣的商業模式應用到像孟加拉這樣的市場，那裡還有額外 1.8 億人口，同時也有強大的僑民基礎。我認為，我們在某個時間點把這項業務作為投資機會對外開放的意圖仍然存在，但在看到成長率仍足以讓我們持續把業務做大之前，我們不會急於推進。

And should I infer from that, that if you were to look for a crystallization of the value in those businesses, you might look to for instance, merge the JazzCash business with businesses from other countries? Or would you try to look at options on a country basis?

那我是否可以推論，如果你要在這些業務上實現價值，你可能會考慮例如把 JazzCash 與其他國家的業務合併？還是你會以單一國家為基礎來評估各種選項？

We will keep an open mind in terms of how we see the consolidation. But clearly, there are certain aspects of the business which, later on, actually turn into products such as digital assets, including stablecoins, remittances. These are global businesses. So some of these things actually could justify a global multi-brand strategy.

我們會對整合的方式保持開放態度。但很明顯，這項業務的某些面向，之後其實會演變成產品，例如數位資產（包括穩定幣）、匯款等。這些都是全球性業務。因此，其中一些領域確實可能支持一個全球、多品牌的策略。

Adrian Cundy, Emerging and Frontier Capital.

Adrian Cundy，Emerging and Frontier Capital。

It's good to see you again. Congratulations, first of all, on beating our digital growth estimate this quarter. Last time we did the call, you said that you sort of had a vision of getting to 30% plus of turnover, sort of, by the end of next year, half from organic, half from potential M&A and 1% a quarter. You seem to be running ahead of that right now. So do you think on an organic basis, you might even get to 30% earlier than planned given what's going on and particularly in Pakistan?

很高興再次見到你。首先恭喜你們本季的數位成長超出我們的預估。上次電話會議時，你提到你們的願景是到明年年底，數位業務占營收達到 30% 以上，其中一半來自有機成長，一半來自潛在的併購（M&A），並且每季提升 1%。你們現在看起來進度超前。那麼在有機成長的基礎上，考量目前的情況、特別是在巴基斯坦的進展，你是否認為你們甚至可能比原計畫更早達到 30%？

Well, I think, as I mentioned, really the momentum we see, not only just in financial services but entertainment, our digital premium products, health care marketplaces is very strong. And now actually, I see that a team we look to end of 2029 to achieve more than 50% of our revenues from digital services. And having that insight, I think half of that should come organic, half of that probably will come with acquisitions that we will see in the markets that we operate in.

我想，正如我提到的，我們看到的動能不僅在金融服務，還包括娛樂、我們的數位高端產品、醫療保健市集等，都非常強勁。現在其實我看到團隊的目標是到 2029 年底，讓數位服務貢獻我們超過 50% 的營收。有了這樣的洞見，我認為其中一半應該來自有機成長，另一半可能會來自我們在營運市場中看到的收購機會。

But I'm very happy to see that we modeled our digital services growth, of course, as 35%-plus growth business, and it is proving to be almost twice as fast. And I'm happy to see that. But I don't want to give a guidance on the year on growth, that's not something we do at this particular time.

不過我很高興看到，我們原本把數位服務成長建模為 35% 以上的成長型業務，而實際證明幾乎快了將近一倍。我很樂見這樣的結果。但我不想對年度成長提供指引，這不是我們在目前這個時間點會做的事。

And just outside of sort of Ukraine and Pakistan and in terms of the growth capital for these -- for the digital wallet in Bangladesh, where you might be doing Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, do you see potentially a need for risk -- more risk capital or a primary issue in those businesses at the group level? And it sort of relates to earlier discussions you said about listing operating companies, particularly Jazztel in Pakistan. Is that still on the agenda given the current geopolitical situation?

另外，撇開烏克蘭與巴基斯坦不談，就這些業務的成長資本而言——例如孟加拉的數位錢包，以及你們可能在哈薩克與烏茲別克所做的事情——你是否認為在集團層面，可能需要更多風險資本，或在這些業務上進行一次主要發行（primary issue）？這也呼應你先前提到的、關於讓營運公司上市的討論，特別是巴基斯坦的 Jazztel。考量目前的地緣政治情勢，這仍在議程上嗎？

I think it's important to look into these not only as crystallizing of the value, but having the right partners, right investors in place to develop resilience and strength. And from that perspective, we are, of course, always looking for what we can achieve around the world.

我認為，重要的是看待這些事情不僅是為了實現價值，也是在於引入合適的合作夥伴與投資人，以建立韌性與實力。從這個角度出發，我們當然一直在尋找我們在全球範圍內能夠達成的機會。

Okay. And if I just have a final question for -- on the debt. Last call, you indicated that you'd like to refinance the notes coming due before they become current in the fourth quarter of this year or address it. Just for our modeling purposes, do you sort of have a target debt to capital in mind?

好的。最後我想問一個關於債務的問題。上次電話會議你提到，你希望在今年第四季到期票據變成流動負債之前就進行再融資，或以其他方式處理。就我們建模而言，你們是否有一個目標的「債務對資本」比率？

And given that cash flow continues to accrue at the group level, when you do move on the notes due in '27, do you need to refinance the whole $1 billion? Or will there be a principal payment and maybe an issue or something a bit longer duration at a smaller size that would provide a further acceleration of free cash flow to equity?

另外，考量集團層面的現金流持續累積，當你們著手處理 2027 年到期的票據時，你們是否需要把 10 億美元全部再融資？還是會先償還部分本金，並可能發行一筆期限更長、規模較小的工具，從而進一步加速股東自由現金流（free cash flow to equity）的提升？

Let me ask Burak to answer that since they have been quite busy on this front. Please, Burak.

我請 Burak 來回答這個問題，因為他們在這方面一直相當忙。請，Burak。

Yes. I mean, the work has been going on, and we still plan to address the debt before it becomes current in November 26. So we are working on that. And all options are on the table. Of course, I think we will go for a minimum benchmark size whenever we go for it. And on top of that, we will have to decide based on all the capital inflows and outflows that we are foreseeing right now.

是的。我的意思是，相關工作一直在進行中，我們仍計劃在 11 月 26 日之前、也就是在該筆債務到期成為即期之前處理它。所以我們正在推進這件事。而且所有選項都在考量之中。當然，我想無論我們何時進行，都會以最低的基準規模（benchmark size）為目標。此外，我們也必須根據目前預期的所有資金流入與流出來做決定。

And if you sort of look two, three years out, what sort of debt to capital structure would you see as optimal for the business?

如果把時間拉長到兩、三年後，你認為對這項業務而言，什麼樣的負債對資本結構會是最理想的？

Excluding leases, we don't want to cross the 1.5 mark, where we are at 1.07 today. So that's where we see ourselves.

不含租賃的話，我們不希望超過 1.5 的水準；我們今天是 1.07。所以我們認為我們會落在那個區間。

(Operator Instructions) Ahmed Mostafa, Inam.

（接線員指示）Ahmed Mostafa，Inam。

I have a question on Uzbekistan. Customers are nearly flat or declining, but ARPU keeps growing. So how should we think about the growth strategy in this market?

我有一個關於烏茲別克的問題。客戶數幾乎持平或下滑，但 ARPU 持續成長。我們應該如何看待這個市場的成長策略？

Ahmed, thanks a lot for the question. As you have noticed, our strategy is around multiplay nature of our services. And that practically means as customers move from being a single-play customer, meaning just consuming our voice services and transforming into consuming our digital services, the potential of ARPU quadruples and the churn goes down significantly.

Ahmed，謝謝你的提問。如你所注意到的，我們的策略圍繞在服務的多重組合（multiplay）特性。這在實務上意味著，當客戶從單一服務（single-play）客戶——也就是只使用我們的語音服務——轉變為使用我們的數位服務時，ARPU 的潛力會提升到四倍，而流失率（churn）會顯著下降。

So that's also what we are observing in Uzbekistan. Our customer base is maybe stable, but actually the type of services we provide is getting richer and richer. And that allows, especially with the family package models, a much higher traction in our wallet share.

這也是我們在烏茲別克所觀察到的情況。我們的客戶基礎也許穩定，但實際上我們提供的服務類型正變得越來越豐富。這使得，特別是在家庭方案（family package）模式下，我們在錢包占比（wallet share）方面能取得更高的滲透與拉動。

Himanshu Porwal, Gramercy.

Himanshu Porwal，Gramercy。

Congratulations for a strong set of results. Just to get some clarity with respect to your financial services business. As in like how much of the Pakistan revenue comes from the financial services arm? And what are your plans on this very division itself, like the financial services? And do you plan to grow it outside of Pakistan on the similar verticals?

恭喜你們交出一組強勁的成績。想釐清一下你們的金融服務業務：例如，巴基斯坦的營收有多少來自金融服務部門？另外，你們對這個部門本身（金融服務）有什麼規劃？以及你們是否計畫在巴基斯坦以外、以類似垂直領域來擴張？

Sure, Himanshu, thanks a lot for the question. To give you an overall indication, for us, financial services business is about $0.5 billion business, a significant portion, almost two-thirds of it comes from Pakistan. And it's a combination of digital wallet services, insurance business, lending business as well as, of course, remittances.

當然，Himanshu，謝謝你的提問。給你一個整體概念：對我們而言，金融服務業務規模約為 5 億美元，其中相當大的一部分——接近三分之二——來自巴基斯坦。其組合包含數位錢包服務、保險業務、放貸業務，當然也包括匯款（remittances）。

And we are serving almost 29 million customers actively, but we have 60 million. Actually, we just crossed the 60 million bank account number. So with that, we believe transacting more than 80% of Raast transactions and transacting almost 15% of GDP, we are already well-established financial services player basically.

我們目前活躍服務約 2,900 萬名客戶，但我們有 6,000 萬。其實我們剛剛跨過 6,000 萬個銀行帳戶數。基於此，我們相信我們處理了超過 80% 的 Raast 交易，且交易量約占 GDP 的 15%，因此我們基本上已經是一個相當成熟的金融服務參與者。

Sorry, I should have it more clear. I meant more with respect to the lending business. Sorry about [that].

抱歉，我應該講得更清楚。我指的是放貸業務方面。抱歉。[那個]。

You mean the percentage of lending business?

你是指放貸業務的占比嗎？

Yes.

是的。

Okay. Wait we --

好的。等一下我們——

So look, we don't get into that level of disclosure. But what we've indicated is that lending is -- roughly lending and interest income is slightly over half of the total revenues for the Pakistan business. So that's what we've indicated in the past. Clearly, as the business grows in size, we are aware that people want to know more, and that's something we are evaluating. And I guess over the next six, nine months, you'll see us providing more color around that.

你看，我們不會披露到那個層級的細節。但我們過去所指出的是：放貸——大致上放貸與利息收入——占巴基斯坦業務總營收略高於一半。這是我們先前的說法。顯然，隨著業務規模成長，我們也理解大家會想知道更多，這也是我們正在評估的方向。我想在接下來六到九個月，你會看到我們提供更多相關細節與說明。

But for now, I think we'll probably leave it at that. Yes, I can point it out 200,000-plus loans, Mobilink has a pretty big loan portfolio. So if you look at the connection services business as a whole, lending and interest income as, yes, it's north of half of the total revenue base that we have today.

但就目前而言，我想我們大概先到此為止。是的，我可以補充一點：超過 20 萬筆貸款，Mobilink 有相當大的貸款組合（loan portfolio）。所以如果你看整體連線服務（connection services）業務，放貸與利息收入確實是——是的——高於我們目前總營收基礎的一半。

That is precisely what was my concern. And I mean, should we start seeing you guys as more of like NBFC sort of thing? Or are you going towards that? Are there any ambition of moving in that direction?

這正是我所擔心的。我是說，我們是否應該開始把你們看作更像 NBFC（非銀行金融公司）那樣？或者你們正朝那個方向走？你們有往那個方向發展的企圖嗎？

So Himanshu, I think you should definitely perceive us as a financial services company, which serves from wealth management to lending, to remittances to digital assets services in the country. So we are already, I think, from a number side, account number side and number of loan side, we are number one in the country. And you will see us getting our fair share from the financial services business as a consumer-oriented financial services company.

所以 Himanshu，我認為你確實應該把我們視為一家金融服務公司，在國內提供從財富管理到放貸、從匯款到數位資產服務等各類服務。我想我們在帳戶數、以及貸款筆數等指標上，已經是全國第一。你也會看到，作為一家以消費者為導向的金融服務公司，我們將在金融服務業務中取得我們應得的份額。

[Jake Ng, New Street Research].

[Jake Ng，New Street Research]。

Just one question. Mobile ARPU growth in general and especially Ukraine was really impressive. Can you give more color on that? Is it really all from bundling and multiplay customers?

只有一個問題。整體行動 ARPU 的成長，尤其是烏克蘭，真的非常亮眼。你能多補充一些細節嗎？這真的全部都來自綁定（bundling）與多重組合（multiplay）客戶嗎？

Look, if you look to our telecom growth, which is, I think, around 8%, 9% versus digital services growth, which is around 57%. And then there was another number which I disclosed, which was multiplay services growth, right? This is actually the telecom growth, but for the segment of customers who are consuming both telecom and digital services, but we do not recognize the revenue as digital service. We recognize the revenue as telecom service because it actually improves the data consumption. That grows more than 17%.

你看，如果你看我們的電信成長，我想大約是 8%、9%；相較之下，數位服務成長大約是 57%。然後我還披露了另一個數字，也就是 multiplay 服務成長，對吧？這其實是電信成長，但針對的是同時使用電信與數位服務的那一群客戶；不過我們並未將該收入認列為數位服務，而是認列為電信服務，因為它實際上提升了數據用量。這部分的成長超過 17%。

So that is actually the sweet spot why our ARPUs are growing. Even if our total number of telecom customers is stable at 150 million year-over-year, our ability to generate more telecom revenues from those customers are increasing because the customers who also consume our entertainment services, they consume more data. They even talk more on the phone and they stay longer with us. And those three drivers allows us to create more ARPU from the same customer base.

所以這其實就是我們 ARPU 成長的甜蜜點。即使我們的電信客戶總數年對年穩定在 1.5 億，我們從這些客戶創造更多電信收入的能力仍在提升，因為同時使用我們娛樂服務的客戶會消耗更多數據。他們甚至通話也更多，而且會更長時間留在我們這裡。這三個驅動因素讓我們能在相同的客戶基礎上創造更高的 ARPU。

Ali Zaidi, Inam.

Ali Zaidi，Inam。

I just have one question. Does Apna Microfinance Bank holds a different kind of license than MMBL? And can it like unlock any regulatory capabilities for JazzCash and MMBL in the future?

我只有一個問題。Apna Microfinance Bank 持有的牌照是否與 MMBL 不同？它是否能在未來為 JazzCash 和 MMBL 解鎖任何監管層面的能力？

Well, we are definitely taking a very important role within the digitalization of the financial services landscape in Pakistan. And we truly believe that as we grow our footprint, including insurance businesses and Apna Bank, we will be basically operating as a digital bank, providing the services that our customers are in need of in the marketplace.

嗯，我們確實在巴基斯坦金融服務版圖的數位化進程中扮演非常重要的角色。我們也真心相信，隨著我們擴大版圖——包括保險業務以及 Apna Bank——我們基本上將以數位銀行的形式運作，提供市場上客戶所需要的服務。

We have no further questions at this time. I will now hand back to Anand Ramachandran for closing remarks.

目前沒有進一步的問題。我現在把電話交回 Anand Ramachandran 作結語。

Thank you very much for your interest in VEON and for supporting us. As always, the Investor Relations team and all of us are available for any follow-up questions. We look forward to staying in touch. Till then, it's goodbye from us till the next quarter on this call. Thank you for your time.

非常感謝各位對 VEON 的關注與支持。一如既往，投資人關係團隊以及我們所有人都可以回答任何後續問題。我們期待保持聯繫。在此之前，我們先在本次電話會議告別，下一季再見。謝謝各位的時間。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。