MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti) – MegaFon, one of Russia's three largest mobile phone operators, posted a first-quarter net profit of 12.64 billion rubles ($404 million) to IFRS, up 36.5 percent year on year, the company said on Wednesday, citing strong revenue and subscriber base growth.
Analysts predicted the company’s net profit at 10.5 billion rubles for the first quarter of 2013. MegaFon, which previously made reports to US GAAP, published its financial statements based on the IFRS for the first time.
The company’s revenues for the quarter grew by 7.6 percent to 67.7 billion rubles while OIBDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization) increased by 26.8 percent to 32.38 billion rubles, with the OIBDA margin rising to 47.8 percent from 40.6 percent a year earlier.
The number of MegaFon’s mobile subscribers grew by 1.7 percent in the first quarter of 2013 year on year to 62.68 million.
“In Q1 we continued to benefit from our strategic focus on data revenue growth and cost control, which translated into higher earnings for the quarter. A number of efficiency initiatives that we implemented last year continue to show positive effects, which have been strongly reflected in our year on year performance,” MegaFon CEO Ivan Tavrin was quoted as saying in a statement.
“Revenue growth has been strong, not only in data services, but also in voice and in sales of equipment and accessories. Growth is set to continue, as we expect a significant increase in the number of our subscribers using data services as smartphone sales and 4G coverage expand.”
