Investments: Russia MTS CFO: 04 CAPEX Forecast Up To $1.4B Vs $1.2B

MForum.ru

Investments: Russia MTS CFO: 04 CAPEX Forecast Up To $1.4B Vs $1.2B

06.09.2004, Dow Jones Newswires

Russia's largest mobile phone company, OAO Mobile TeleSystems (MBT), said Tuesday that it has raised its forecast for its 2004 capital expenditure to $1.4 billion from a previous forecast of $1.2 billion.


The demand for mobile phone services has exceeded the company's expectations, "so we have to invest more in the regions where we already operate as we speed up entry into new regions," Nikolai Tseholmsky, MTS' chief financial officer said during a conference call Tuesday.

MTS' President Vassily Sidorov added that MTS plans to launch services in 11 new regions in Russia, not all of which were originally envisaged.

Sidorov said that capital expenditure was revised due to higher demand and network congestionin both Russia and Ukraine. "The capex forecast for 2005 will not be too different from 2004," Sidorov said.

Tseholmsky added that MTS forecasts its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, margin to be in the mid-50% range. MTS reported an EBITDA margin of 56.8% for the second quarter, up from 53.6% a year earlier.

Sidorov explained that the margins are being affected by two different factors, helped by strong demand but also hurt by inflation.

Sidorov reiterated that MTS is interested in international expansion, but said the company is now looking not only at the former Soviet Union countries, but also to "other European countries." He refused to specify.

He did say MTS isn't interested in going to India or Pakistan, and recently changed its mind about buying an operator in Turkey.

Commenting on the recent purchase by competitor VimpelCom (VIP) of Kar-Tel, Kazakhstan's second-largest operator, Sidorov said that MTS had also bid for Kar-Tel and plans to enter the lucrative Kazakhstan market either by buying another operator or participating in a license tender.

Mikhail Susov, MTS' deputy president in charge of marketing, said MTS forecasts Russian mobile phone penetration to reach 45% by the end of the year, 65% in 2005 and 75% in 2006. "In Moscow the penetration rate will be around 100% by end of 2004," Susov said.

He said he agrees with competitors that it there is little commercial interest in providing mobile phone services to the approximately 30% of Russians who live in very remote areas. However, he said some users are expected to have phones with more than one operator, so the penetration level could technically rise above 70%.

© Anna Ivanova-Galitsina, Dow Jones Newswires Rated by MyTOP

Обсуждение (открыть в отдельном окне)

В форуме нет сообщений.

Новое сообщение:
Complete in 3 ms, lookup=0 ms, find=3 ms

Последние сообщения в форумах

Все форумы »



Поиск по сайту:

Подписка:

Подписаться
Отписаться


Новости

29.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Vivo Y400 на базе Snapdragon 685 представлен в Индонезии / MForum.ru

28.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: itel Super Guru 4G Max – кнопочный телефон с искусственным интеллектом для Индии / MForum.ru

25.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Realme 15 с АКБ 7000 мАч и быстрой зарядкой 80 Вт представлен официально / MForum.ru

25.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Realme 15 Pro с Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 и тремя 50 Мп камерами представлен официально / MForum.ru

25.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Honor Pad X7 с Android 15 представлен официально / MForum.ru

24.07. [Новинки] Слухи: Раскрыты подробности о Redmi 15C 5G / MForum.ru

24.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Realme Narzo 80 Lite 4G представлен официально / MForum.ru

23.07. [Новинки] Слухи: Vivo V60 могут анонсировать 12 августа / MForum.ru

23.07. [Новинки] Слухи: Redmi Turbo 5 может получить Dimensity 8500 Ultra / MForum.ru

22.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Oppo K13 Turbo и K13 Turbo Pro с активным охлаждением представлены официально / MForum.ru

22.07. [Новинки] Слухи: Раскрыты подробности о Redmi Note 15 Pro + / MForum.ru

21.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Samsung Galaxy F36 5G появился в Индии / MForum.ru

21.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Vivo Y50 5G и Y50m 5G представлены официально / MForum.ru

21.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Realme Buds T200 представлены официально / MForum.ru

18.07. [Новинки] Слухи: Tecno работает над Phantom Ultimate G Fold / MForum.ru

17.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Wiko Enjoy 80 Pro с HarmonyOS представлен официально / MForum.ru

17.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Honor X70 представлен официально / MForum.ru

16.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Игровой планшет Honor Pad GT2 Pro представлен официально / MForum.ru

15.07. [Новинки] Слухи: Oppo K13 Turbo и K13 Turbo Pro готовятся к анонсу / MForum.ru

15.07. [Новинки] Анонсы: Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus с AI-функциями представлен в Индии / MForum.ru