Rostelecom’s IFRS net income rises 32% to 7.7 bln rbl in Apr–Jun

MOSCOW, Aug 5 (PRIME) -- The net income of Russian state-controlled telecom operator Rostelecom increased 32% on the year to 7.731 billion rubles in April–June, as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the company said on Wednesday in a statement.

Revenue rose 13% to 127.279 billion rubles.

Operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) grew 15% to 48.800 billion rubles. The OIBDA margin added 0.7 percentage points to 38.3%.

Capital expenditure excluding state programs increased 35% to 24.661 billion rubles.

The net debt widened 25% to 407.118 billion rubles.

“Completing the consolidation of Tele2 Russia’s mobile business was timely. The transaction has made us a truly integrated digital provider, which is a unique position to be in both in terms of the breadth of services assembled under the Rostelecom brand and the opportunities open to Rostelecom to serve the needs of clients in the 21st Century with new digital services,” President Mikhail Oseyesvksy said.

He also said, “We are seeing the first signs of recovery in economic activity for our clients, many of whom are projecting a return to growth in the coming quarters. This will lead to an expansion of work being carried out to digitize various industries and aspects of people’s daily lives. By the year-end we plan to go to the board of directors and present to the market an updated strategy that will set more precise goals, taking into account the inclusion of Tele2 Russia as a fully consolidated member of the group, and illustrate new initiatives that can create additional value for shareholders.”

Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer Sergei Anokhin said, “However, despite the noticeable relaxation of quarantine restrictions and the first signs of recovery in economic activity, there remains significant uncertainty about the future development of the pandemic and macroeconomic indicators. Based on this, the management team maintains a conservative view when it comes to forecasting growth rates for 2020. We expect an increase in consolidated revenue of at least 5%, an increase in OIBDA of at least 5%; and we expect to keep ÑAPEX within 100–110 billion rubles excluding state programs.”

(73.3806 rubles – U.S. $1)

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