MTS’ IFRS net profit jumps 30.2% to 14.2 bln rbl in Oct–Dec 2018

MOSCOW, Mar 19 (PRIME) -- The net profit of major Russian mobile operator MTS increased 30.2% on the year to 14.2 billion rubles in October–December 2018, as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the company said on Tuesday in a statement.

Revenue grew 11.3% to 130.1 billion rubles. Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) grew 23% to 55.6 billion rubles. Operating profit rose 26.1% to 28.9 billion rubles.

The number of mobile subscribers contracted 1.1% on the year and 0.2% on the quarter to 105.3 million as of the end of 2018.

For the full 2018 year, the net profit shrank 87.8% to 6.8 billion rubles. Revenue rose 8.4% to 480.3 billion rubles. Adjusted OIBDA increased 22.9% to 220.9 billion rubles. Operating profit advanced 20.9% to 116.2 billion rubles.

Cash capital expenditures grew 13.2% to 86.5 billion rubles. The net debt widened 13.9% to 232.8 billion rubles. Free cash flow shrank 23.3% to 54.8 billion rubles.

CEO Alexei Kornya said, “The 2018 year has seen a remarkably strong performance by MTS. We made excellent progress along the road to fully implementing our digital transformation strategy…Looking ahead, we remain optimistic about the prospects of our key markets, in the context of relatively stable macroeconomics, a healthy competitive environment and continuing growth in data usage.”

For 2019, MTS forecasts above 3% revenue growth thanks to rising data consumption and competitive dynamics in distribution and reduced SIM card sales in Russia, among others. The company estimates its outlook for adjusted OIBDA growth rate to be slightly negative with a target to keep the OIBDA flat because of a high base effect of 2018 and changes in regulatory environment, to name a few.

The operator also lowered its estimate of an additional investment required to comply with the data retention law to 50 billion rubles from the earlier mentioned 60 billion rubles over five years from July 2018. Overall, MTS expects its capital expenditures to be up to 90 billion rubles in 2019, including investments for the data retention law.

(64.6694 rubles – U.S. $1)

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