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Vimpelcom posts Q3 record net income of USD 458 mln (Russia)

  • November 30th, 2007
  • 2:22 pm

Russian mobile operator Vimpel Communications (Vimpelcom) has reported record net operating revenue of USD 1.96 billion for Q3 2007, up 43.9 percent from Q3 2006 and up 13.9 percent from Q2 2007. OIBDA reached a record USD 1.01 billion for the quarter, up 41.4 percent year-on-year and up 13.2 percent quarter-on-quarter; with net profit up 70.7 percent year-on-year to a record USD 458 million. The consolidated figures cover its operations in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia. Vimpelcom registered a total of 50.69 million active mobile subscribers at end-Q3 2007, up 18.9 percent from 42.64 million a year earlier.

Its Russian operations had a total of 41.80 million active subscribers at end-September, up 7.8 percent from 38.79 million a year earlier. Its Russian business generated Q3 revenue of USD 1.65 billion, up 34.5 percent from USD 1.23 billion in Q3 2006; with net income of USD 422.58 million, up 50.1 percent from USD 279.96 million. ARPU in Russia was USD 13.40 in Q3 2007, up 26.4 percent from USD 10.60 in Q3 2006, with average minutes of use (MOU) up 37.5 percent year-on-year from 151.9 to 208.9 minutes. Churn rate in Russia was 10.1 percent, versus 9.9 percent in Q3 2006.

   

Tyco to construct submarine cable for Caucasus (Georgia)

  • September 13th, 2007
  • 2:29 pm

Georgian ISP Caucasus Online has inked a deal with US-based vendor Tyco Telecom to lay a submarine fibre-optic cable stretching 1,100km across the Black Sea, connecting the port of Poti in Georgia to the Bulgarian city of Varna. The system will provide Georgia with direct access to Europe with an ultimate capacity of 1.3 Terabits over two fibre pairs. In Poti, the cable will link to Caucasus Online’s own network. The system is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2008.

   

 

 

Vimpelcom performs above par (Russia)

  • September 2nd, 2007
  • 2:30 pm

Vimpelcom, Russia’s second largest mobile operator by subscribers, has posted a second-quarter year-on-year net profit rise of 84.3%, well above market expectations, due mainly to growing usage. The cellco reported net income of USD359.3 million versus USD194.9 million in the same period of 2006 and USD277.3 million in the first quarter of 2007. In a poll, analysts had forecast second-quarter earnings of USD324 million. CEO Alexander Izosimov said in a statement that his company achieved all-time records in key parameters, including revenue, OIBDA, net income, operating cash flow, and growth was further supported by improving operating parameters, including monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) and minutes of use in all markets. The consolidated results include Vimpelcom’s operations in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia. OIBDA increased 59.7% to USD896.8 million, and net operating revenues rose 53.1% to USD1.72 billion. ARPU reached USD12.3 from USD9 a year before, above analysts’ expectations of USD10.6. ‘This further validates our belief in the high growth potential of the CIS, which is becoming an increasingly important part of our business,’ Izosimov said.

   

 

MagtiCom awards backhaul contract (Georgia)

  • August 22nd, 2007
  • 3:26 pm

US vendor Harris Stratex Networks says it has secured two contracts for microwave backhaul worth a total of more than USD4 million with the Georgian cellco MagtiCom. Harris will deploy its ‘Eclipse’ nodal wireless networking platform to offer low-capacity access as well as high-capacity transmission of both PDH (plesiochronous digital hierarchy) and native Ethernet traffic. ‘Choosing the Eclipse platform was a logical process for us, considering our long relationship with Harris Stratex Networks,’ said David Lee, MagtiCom’s CEO. Guy Campbell, CEO of Harris Stratex said, ‘Eclipse [is] a significant upgrade of a national mobile network to support the rollout of UMTS services… [It] has the ability to scale up in capacity as the network grows and provide a future-ready platform of mixed TDM and Ethernet streams for new voice, data and video services.’  MagtiCom ended the first half of 2007 with an estimated one million subscribers and was second-placed behind market leader Geocell.

   

 

Minister: ISPs deceiving consumers

  • August 2nd, 2007
  • 3:25 pm

Georgia’s Minister of Economic Development, Giorgi Arveladze has criticised the prices charged by the country’s ISPs for narrowband consumer internet access. He stated that: ‘The internet service providers are deceiving consumers; subscribers are obliged to pay at least GEL45 (USD25.5) more for the low-speed [sic] internet. This shouldn’t happen in the 21st century. There are foreign companies which are planning to work on the local market with all rules observed. If the existing providers continue deceiving consumers, in the future they will be deprived of their business altogether.’ Arveladze added that the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) should act immediately to change the situation. According to recent local reports, there are 17 ISPs active in Georgia, but Caucasus Online holds about 90% of the market. Incumbent telco United Telecom of Georgia recently announced its own foray into the consumer retail market, sparking a protracted conflict with Caucasus Online over tariff charges. The two companies eventually signed an agreement brokered by Arveladze and the GNCC.

   

 

Network and ISP giants clash in Georgia

  • July 16th, 2007
  • 3:02 pm

Tensions between Caucasus Net, Georgia’s dominant internet service provider, and United Telecom Georgia (UTG) , which owns most of the country’s fixed line communications networks, have been building for a while now, and were not helped with the announcement last month that UTG would be launching its own internet service, accompanied by the news that UTG would be raising the monthly fee it charges ISPs for the use of its broadband network (the only one in the country) more than fourfould, to GEL15 (USD8.50). Several small ISPs said they would cover the increased fee, which UTG says is for network maintenance, from their own pockets rather than asking their customers to pay more. Caucasus Net, however, made it clear it had no intention of bowing to UTG’s demands. Caucasus Net was founded in 1997 and claims around 90% of all internet users, and is arguably the only company with the clout to take on UTG. It contested the fee hike in court and appealed to the regulator, Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC). Financial director Iago Khachvani told local newspaper The Messenger, ‘This disagreement didn’t start a month ago. We’ve had problems since 2005, when UTG was a state-owned organisation. They wanted to increase tariffs years ago, but they couldn’t because the GNCC was involved and limited the tariff to GEL3.50, which we paid without problems.’ UTG bought much of the state’s communication network in May 2006, paying USD90 million in total, and became the main provider for all Georgian operators. Caucasus Net bought ISPs Georgia Online and Sanet Internet last autumn, establishing its own stranglehold on the internet market. Its mid-range broadband package was formerly priced at GEL50 a month. UTG said it would offer the same package for the same price with all fees included. ‘They [UTG] demanded we pay a new fee. First it was GEL21, then GEL13, then GEL15. We opposed paying this money because it’s unfair. We took this to the Tbilisi Civil Court,’ Khachvani said. UTG then sent out letters to Caucasus Net’s customers, telling them that they could choose between switching ISPs or paying GEL15 themselves, or their phone lines would be disconnected. This prompted the GNCC to step in and wrote to UTG saying it was unfair to demand fees from Caucasus Net’s customers. On 5 July this year, Minister of Economic Development Giorgi Arveladze said his ministry had got involved, and its say would be final. The next day, UTG and Caucasus Net agreed to a new tariff to be set by the GNCC. The new price is expected to be announced within the next week.. ‘We are very glad that the ministry was interested in our problem and expedited the resolution process,’ said Khachvani, adding, ‘I’m sure we would have won [the court case] if this agreement hadn’t been reached,’ UTG officials said subscribers won’t be paying any more, as ISPs will be shouldering the new tariff. Customers who had paid money having been sent notice letters will be refunded. UTG chairman Iva Martiashvili said, ‘We made the final decision, one which both companies accept. The tariff is decreased, and users won’t be paying the fee. We decided that GNCC will set the new tariff, which will be paid by all ISPs, including Caucasus Net.’

   

Vimpelcom reports sales growth

  • May 30th, 2007
  • 8:36 am

Vimpelcom, Russia’s second largest cellular operator in terms of subscribers, has reported net operating revenues of USD1.49 billion for the first three months of this year, up 59% from Q1 2006. OIBDA increased 58.8% to USD766.4 million, while net income reached USD277.3 million, up 84.6% year-on-year. At the end of March the group had 45.78 million subscribers across its operations in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia.

   

NewNet launches triple-play network

  • January 15th, 2007
  • 12:51 pm

Telegeography writes…Georgian telco NewNet, which according to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database was the second-largest fixed line operator with 85,000 local telephony subscribers at the end of 2005, has launched an IP/MPLS (internet protocol/multi-label protocol switching) based triple-play network. Installed by Israeli vendor Telrad Networks, the rollout follows four months of testing by commercial customers. The infrastructure is designed to meet NewNet’s expansion and capacity requirements for the next ten years.