Russia and CIS operator MTS reported third-quarter revenues up 12.5 percent from a year ago to USD 3.27 billion. OIBDA improved 9.3 percent to USD 1.44 billion, and the margin fell to 44.0 percent from 45.3 a year ago. The company's net profit dropped 25.2 percent to RUB 361.8 million, hurt by a forex loss of USD 191 million. The company's capex nearly doubled to USD 704.3 million, or 21.5 percent of revenue, due mainly to higher spending in Russia. Capex for the full year is expected to reach 22-24 percent of sales. In its home market, MTS grew revenues 10.8 percent to RUB 81.74 billion, and OIBDA increased 9.9 percent to RUB 36.9 billion. Results were supported by a change in dealer commissions towards revenue-sharing, a shift away from Sim card sales and cost savings in sales activities and the retail network. Mobile revenues rose 12.6 percent to RUB 69 billion, helped by increased roaming and data revenues, while fixed revenues were up 9.5 percent to RUB 14.7 billion, supported by acquisitions and broadband growth. ARPU in Russia improved to RUB 288, and MOU rose to 272. The mobile customer base fell by 1.4 percent in the quarter to 70.12 million, as the group focused more on high-value customers. Broadband subscribers grew by 3.8 percent in the three months to 2.032 million, and TV customers were up 4.0 percent to 2.741 million, driven by acquisitions.
