MOSCOW: The revenues of Russian and CIS operator MTS in the first quarter slid by 1.1 percent year-on-year to RUB 104.7 billion. The company attributed part of the decrease to the effect of a leap year in 2016, without which revenue would largely be flat. However, voice and data usage growth in Russia, coupled with slightly higher handset sales, supported revenue growth in this key market. This offset the negative effect of the strengthening Russian ruble in relation to group currencies as the contribution from foreign subsidiaries overall weakened. Revenues in Russia grew by 0.9 percent to RUB 97.1 billion. Group OIBDA went to RUB 41.8 billion, up by 1.8 percent, driven by strong mobile revenue, optimisation of costs related to roaming and a positive year-over-yearcontribution from Ukraine. For Russia, the figure grew by 2.4 percent to RUB 39.5 billion, largely due to the higher-profitability of roaming, as well as relatively less of an impact in the retail business to the first quarter of 2016.
MTS delivered a first-quarter group net profit of RUB 12.5 billion, down from RUB 14.5 billion the year earlier. The drop was attributable to a smaller non-cash FOREX gain due to the relative stability of the ruble and higher depreciation and amortisation costs on the back of network expansion in key markets like Russia and Ukraine. Free cash flow of the group increased by 11.4 percent, to RUB 22.9 billion. Capital expenditure of the group dropped by 39.5 percent, to RUB 11.1 billion. Net debt increased by 2.6 percent, to RUB 203.3 billion. The whole mobile subscriber base of the MTS group totaled 108.8 million, down by 1.0 percent quarter-on-quarter, up by 1.7 percent year-on-year. The indicator grew by 2.2 percent year-on-year, decreased by 1.3 percent, to 79.0 million, in Russia.
