Veon warned the impact of sanctions against Russia and the nation’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine could spill out into other markets where the operator is present.

In a trading update, CEO Kaan Terzioglu (pictured) hailed the way Veon’s teams were handling the current global situation and ensuring the continuity of services and business in Veon’s nine markets.

But Veon warned it expects to report “material impairment charges” with respect to assets in Ukraine and/or Russia during 2022, “unless there is a significant improvement in the current underlying conditions, including a lasting resolution of the ongoing conflict”.

Despite the difficult environment, Terzioglu said Veon delivered “solid” results in Q1, noting it maintained high-single-digit growth and improved its capital structure.

Mobile subscriber numbers grew 3.9 per cent year-on-year to 206.4 million, of which 100.8 million are 4G customers.

The impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict was mixed, with revenue in the former down 6.9 per cent to $857 million while the latter grew 12.7 per cent to $276 million.

Group revenue was flat at $1.9 billion.

Veon also pointed out it is not the subject of any sanctions imposed by the European Union, US or the United Kingdom.