|
Articles & publications
12.05.2010
Svyazinvest to boost RAS net profit 22% to RUR 28.5 bln in 2009Interfax
Svyazinvest’s RAS net profit rose 22% in 2009 compared with the year-earlier period to RUR 28.5 bln, the general director of the holding Evgeny Yurchenko said at an expanded meeting of a panel of the Telecommunications Ministry on Wednesday.
The group’s revenue increased by 2.4% to RUR 259 bln, while EBITDA went up by 14% to RUR 88 bln.
Last year the most rapidly expanding companies of Svyazinvest were UTK, with net profit reaching 231%, CenterTelecom (RTS: ESMO) (96%), Uralsvyazinform (RTS: URSI) (52%), and VolgaTelecom (RTS: NNSI) (44%).
The holding’s companies managed last year to maintain their market shares on the local voice market, raising revenues in this segment by 5%. The main growth came from datacom services: in 2009 the regional telecom operators (RTOs) controlled by Svyazinvest remained the largest Internet providers in the regions, with market shares for these services remaining at 50% or more.
In 2010 the plan is to raise Svyazinvest’s revenue by 3.3% to RUR 267.5 bln, while EBITDA should remain at the level of RUR 92.4 bln, and net profit is expected to go up by more than 8% to RUR 30.9 bln.
The holding’s total liabilities decreased by 17% in 2009 and stood at RUR 119.5 bln as of January 1. The amount of foreign currency debt shrank by 42%. The deleveraging process should continue in 2010. The plan is for the group’s debt profile to total RUR 95.4 bln by January 1, 2011.
Svyazinvest’s net debt fell over one year from RUR 121.7 bln to RUR 86.3 bln as of January 1, 2009. This metric should reach RUR 79.5 bln by 2011.
Total capital expenses decreased by 53% last year and stood at RUR 32.8 bln. Investments are expected to rise 43.6% to RUR 47.1 bln in 2010.
Evgeny Yurchenko said that the main priority in 2008 was to invest in traditional telephony. But now the main focus is shifting towards projects with rapid payback periods and projects in the final stage of completion which aim to support the existing infrastructure, he said. In addition, the proportion of investments aimed at business expansion increased to 77%.
In 2010 the amount of capital investments in business development will increase to 86%. The main areas of business will remain the development of broadband Internet (over 50% of total investments) and the rollout of telecommunications infrastructure.
According to the head of Svyazinvest, since the beginning of 2009 the total capitalization of seven regional telecom operators (RTOs) has risen from $1.4 bln to $7 bln. The growth leaders are UTK, VolgaTelecom, CenterTelecom, Sibirtelecom and Far East Telecom.
|
