The FINANCIAL — "Vimpel-Communications" one of the leading international providers of telecommunications said it has 3.6 million new mobile subscribers, with the total subscriber base up to 64.6 million.
In Georgia company has 399 000 subscribers. In 2009 mobile net operating revenues consisted 54.0 GEL mln and 17.1 (GEL mln) in 4 Q.
Company said full-year consolidated ruble revenues in Russia increased 10% year-on-year and reached 235.4 billion rubles. Free cash flow amounted to $2.7 billion after $0.8 billion spent on Capex. Net debt decreased to $5.9 billion bringing the Net Debt/OIBDA ratio to 1.4.
"By the end of 2008, in the depths of the global macroeconomic crisis, we took decisive actions to address the market uncertainties”, Commenting on the performance of the Company, Boris Nemsic, Chief Executive Officer of VimpelCom, said,
“We committed to our shareholders that we would preserve cash, improve liquidity, control costs, and integrate the newly acquired fixed-line business, all while maintaining our leading market positions. I am very pleased that we have delivered on each of these commitments, which is clearly demonstrated by our full-year results.
The growth in our mobile subscriber base to over 64.6 million customers was good especially in light of the high penetration in our markets. Moreover, subscriber growth did not come at the expense of subscriber quality and profitability, as we improved our consolidated fixed and mobile OIBDA margins to more than 49% on average for the year. Furthermore, our focus on operational excellence and profitability resulted in a record $3.5 billion of operational cash flow, allowing us to substantially improve our liquidity and pay dividends. We paid out a dividend of $0.32 per ADS based on the Company's operating results for the first nine months of 2009, while substantially reducing our net debt to a comfortably manageable $5.9 billion, a 22% reduction compared to December 31, 2008.
Finally, our strategic shareholders recently took another important step toward positioning VimpelCom as a global player in the telecommunications industry by launching an exchange offer through VimpelCom Ltd., which if completed, will combine VimpelCom with Kyivstar, the largest mobile operator in Ukraine. We believe that this transaction will support our strategic objectives and create value for the Company's stakeholders. The Company's Board of Directors unanimously recommended that the Company's shareholders and holders of American depositary shares exchange their Company shares and ADSs for VimpelCom Ltd. depositary shares in the exchange offer launched by VimpelCom Ltd".
Discussion about this post