CEO letter - Q1 2025

Since stepping into the role of CEO at Tele2, I have repeated a core mantra to the organisation – we need to become faster, more agile, remove unnecessary complexity and embrace a much stricter cost discipline. In short, we must return to our roots and the challenger culture that defined the original Tele2. This is the path to follow to deliver better value for money to our customers, become more resilient, and take control of our future

We are executing our transformation plan at high speed, and have taken some major steps in the right direction. An employee survey conducted in February indicated strong internal support for our new way of working, reinforcing my belief that we will succeed in our transformation.

Financially, we start seeing impact of our transformation already in Q1. Thanks to topline growth in the Baltics and improved cost discipline across the group, we have managed to increase our Underlying EBITDAaL by 6% year on year. Due to a major cultural shift throughout the Tele2 organisation, we are evolving towards a much higher degree of cost-consciousness, systematically challenging all our purchases while also reviewing our 350 
largest contracts.

We have also started delivering on our ambition to simplify our organisation, including a workforce reduction by 15% over 12 months. More than 450 colleagues left us during Q1 and up until mid-April when the new organisation took effect. While cost savings are a key driver, our primary ambition is to simplify our processes, prioritising the initiatives that matter most to our 
customers, while removing unnecessary complexity and intermediaries. 

These have been difficult weeks for everyone in Tele2. My thoughts are  especially with the individuals personally affected by the changes. We are 
doing everything we can to support and assist them through this transition. I am deeply impressed by, and grateful for, the professionalism and focus the entire organisation has shown during this challenging period.

Regardless of our transformation, our customers remain our first and primary focus. We consistently adapt to customers’ new behaviours and anticipate the technology evolution. Our Swedish Consumer revenue in 
Q1 has been impacted negatively by the decommissioning of our obsolete terrestrial TV service in December. Nevertheless, we are convinced it was the right move for customer experience and future growth. In the meantime, we continue enhancing our digital TV offering: in Q1, we integrated the streaming service Max into our portfolio – a move that has been well received by our TV customers. 

I am confident that our network quality and the superior value for money  offered by Tele2 and Comviq will make the difference on the market. In the meantime, we continue improving our ability to interact directly with current and future customers. As part of this improvement, we are expanding our own retail footprint. During Q1, we opened four new stores in Sweden, including our flagship store in Stockholm’s Gallerian. We also reached a major milestone in the development of our digital sales channels with a revamp of Tele2.se, where we now offer smoother and more intuitive sales flows. The new platform allows us to develop new features and offerings faster and provides a more dynamic customer experience.

Defending our customers’ interests means standing by their side and addressing competition distortions in Sweden. We look forward to the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority’s (PTS) decision to ensure effective competition in the single-family housing market. That would be a significant win for Swedish consumers.

Like many previous quarters, our three Baltic operations show impressive results in Q1, including a promising turnaround of our Estonian operation. This success is no coincidence. It is triggered by our Baltic colleagues’ ability to deep dive into customer data, anticipate needs and reach out with the right offers at precisely the right moment. Over the course of this year, we will deepen collaboration between Sweden and the Baltics – learning from each other and identifying further synergies.

For the third consecutive year, Tele2 has been awarded an A rating in CDP’s Climate category, and we were once again named as Sweden’s most gender equal company by global ranking Equileap. These prestigious and rigorous ratings recognise Tele2’s continuous efforts to maintain its leading position amongst the most sustainable companies in the world. Of the many sustainability initiatives we took over the quarter, I am proud to mention our campaigns to protect children online and proactively block child sexual 
abuse material.

Finally, I have also had the pleasure of welcoming four new members to the Group Leadership Team: Peter Landgren, Petr Cermak, Karin Wadström Sjöstedt and Ove Wik. Each of them will play an important role in driving our transformation and continued development. We are now well positioned to 
deliver on our ambitious goals.