The agency said in its statement: "The change in outlook reflects the company's continued robust financial and operational performance, VimpelCom's position as the second largest mobile operator in Russia and Kazakhstan, its retention of a strong market share in competitive environment, and conservative leverage relative to its cash flow with Total Debt to EBITDA at approximately 1.1x on an annualized Q3 2005 basis."
"At the same time the Ba3 rating takes into account the company's publicly stated ambitions to pursue acquisitions in the CIS countries, continued high capital expenditure program, Moody's expectations of a rise in the absolute debt level to finance anticipated acquisitions, the increasing pressure on ARPU [Average Revenue Per Unit], and the competitive nature of the company's markets."
VimpelCom is best known for the Beeline trademark, one of Russia's most popular mobile operators. Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor holds 26.6% of shares in VimpelCom, whereas Russia's leading private equity group Altimo (previously named Alfa Telecom), the telecoms arm of financial and industrial holding Alfa Group, holds a 32.9% stake.
