Russia’s VimpelCom revenue falls 2% to 71.2 bln rbl in Jul–Sep

MOSCOW, Nov 3 (PRIME) -- Revenue of Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, working as Beeline, went down 2% to 71.177 billion rubles in July–September, the company’s sole owner, Amsterdam-based VimpelCom Ltd. said Thursday in a report.

Mobile service revenue lost 1% to 57.935 billion rubles, and fixed-line service revenue decreased 3% to 10.955 billion rubles.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) declined 6% to 26.710 billion rubles. EBITDA margin slipped 1.8 percentage points to 37.5%.

Capital expenditures excluding licenses decreased 24% to 9.444 billion rubles.

The number of mobile customers fell 2% to 58.1 million. Average revenue per user (ARPU) slipped 1% to 321 rubles per month.

The number of broadband customers plunged 18% to 1.8 million. Broadband ARPU fell 12% to 378 rubles per month.

In January–September, revenue went down 1% to 204.211 billion rubles. Mobile service revenue remained flat on the year at 165.324 billion rubles, and fixed-line service revenue decreased 8% to 31.940 billion rubles.

EBITDA declined 5% to 78.389 billion rubles. EBITDA margin slipped 1.4 percentage points to 38.4%.

Capital expenditures excluding licenses decreased 31% to 19.817 billion rubles in January–September.

“The macro-economic slowdown and weakened ruble continued to negatively impact revenue growth and profitability in Russia. In addition, competition has increased during 2016 and the company expects the environment to remain challenging for the remainder of the year,” the report read.

(63.4166 rubles – U.S. $1)

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