MOSCOW, November 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile TeleSystems OJSC , today announces its consolidated US GAAP financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2009.
Key Financial Highlights of Q3 2009 - Consolidated revenues up 12.1% q-o-q to $2,267.6 million driven by additional subscribers, rising voice and data consumption, seasonal usage factors and currency appreciation - Consolidated OIBDA[1] up 11.4% q-o-q to $1,062.6 million with 46.9% OIBDA margin driven by revenue growth and optimized period spending - Consolidated net income of $494.4 million due to revenue growth and non-cash foreign exchange gain on US dollar denominated debt Key Corporate and Industry Highlights - Closing of the syndicated loan originally signed in May 2009 with oversubscription by nearly $100 million in July 2009 - Placement of a ruble-denominated bond worth RUB 15 billion in July 2009 - Securing of additional financing from Sberbank through two loans in the amount of RUB 47 billion and RUB 12 billion in October 2009 - Acquisition of 100% stake in Teleforum, a mobile retail chain, for up to $11 million[2] in October 2009 - Acquisition of 50.91% stake in Comstar-UTS for 39.15 billion rubles ($1.32 billion)[3] or RUB 184.02 ($6.21) per Global Depositary Receipt (GDR) by a subsidiary of MTS in October 2009 - Confirmation of credit rating at Ba2 level by Moody's with outlook stable - Confirmation of credit rating at BB+ level by Fitch with outlook changed from negative to stable - Confirmation of credit rating at BB level by SP with outlook changed from positive to stable - Issuance of guidance for FY 2009 at the MTS Analyst and Investor Day with Group revenues expected to reach $8.25 bln and Group OIBDA margin in the high 40%s range for core mobile business; the previous Group CAPEX guidance was changed from $1.5 bln to $1.8 bln Additional Developments - MTS continues to see sustained macroeconomic volatility in its markets of operations that may impact the financial and operational performance throughout the Group - For additional information and insights, download materials used during the MTS' Analyst and Investor Day at http://www.mtsgsm.com/resources/analyst_investor_days
Commentary
Mr. Mikhail Shamolin, President and CEO of MTS, highlighted: We are focusing on a number of key initiatives to realize our 3i Strategy: the acquisition of 51% stake in Comstar-UTS and development of fixed-line broadband and pay-TV services in our markets; the continued roll-out of 3G and promotion of data and content services to our customers; the on-going development of our retail sales channels; the launch of our online content portal, Omlet.ru; activity on the local and international capital markets; plus our ongoing focus on cost effectiveness. But this hasn't detracted from our focus on our core business, which saw healthy growth due to subscriber additions, strong usage in both voice and data services, incremental pricing power and a growing contribution from our retail sales channels. Though we see a sustained effect from the macroeconomic volatility, our focus remains on developing markets in Russia and the CIS for telecommunications services. This is the very essence of our 3i Strategy and in our view the best way to maximize value for all of our shareholders.
For further operational information and full consolidated unaudited financial statements, please visit http://www.mtsgsm.com/news/reports/
Learn more about MTS. Visit the official blog of the Investor Relations Department at http://www.mtsgsm.com/blog/
Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (MTS) is the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company services over 96.86 million subscribers. The regions of Russia, as well as Armenia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, in which MTS and its associates and subsidiaries are licensed to provide GSM services, have a total population of more than 230 million. Since June 2000, MTS' Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). Additional information about MTS can be found on MTS' website at http://www.mtsgsm.com.
Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of MTS, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as expect, believe, anticipate, estimate, intend, will, could, may or might, and the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. We refer you to the documents MTS files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the Company's most recent Form 20-F. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned Risk Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, our competitive environment, dependence on new service development and tariff structures, rapid technological and market change, acquisition strategy, risks associated with telecommunications infrastructure, risks associated with operating in Russia and the CIS, volatility of stock price, financial risk management and future growth subject to risks.
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[1] See Attachment A for definitions and reconciliation of OIBDA and OIBDA margin to their most directly comparable US GAAP financial measures.
[2] Based on certain performance criteria.
[3] As transactions between Russian entities must be carried out in rubles, MTS hedged the final amount due on completion of the transaction with 50% of the sale price pegged at 31.9349 rubles:dollar rate, while the balance has been calculated at 29.6090, the official rate of the Central Bank of Russia on the date of signing.
For further information, please contact in Moscow: Joshua B. Tulgan Director, Investor Relations Mob: +7-985-220-4208 Department of Investor Relations Mobile TeleSystems OJSC Tel: +7-495-223-2025 E-mail: ir@mts.ru
SOURCE: MTS Mobile TeleSystems
CONTACT: For further information, please contact in Moscow: Joshua B.Tulgan, Director, Investor Relations, Mob: +7-985-220-4208, Department ofInvestor Relations, Mobile TeleSystems OJSC, Tel: +7-495-223-2025, E-mail:ir@mts.ru
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