Killer investments are indeed a rare find for investors. But the CEO of Russian telecom operator VimpelCom
Good thing Izosimov has the numbers to back it up. VimpelCom reported quarterly revenue of $2.1 billion, 41.7% higher than last year. Net income exploded 117% to $601 million, thanks in large part to a $185 million exchange-rate gain. Competition with another leading mobile-services provider, Mobile Telesystems
Looking at just this quarter's operations, not every operating segment was firing on all cylinders, though. Economic problems in some of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) regions, as well as cold weather and power outages, hurt results from operations outside Russia. For instance, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan all reported lower average revenue per user (ARPU) rates from their respective subscriber bases.
With the acquisition of fixed-line operator Golden Telecom now complete, VimpelCom will not only split financials between Russian and the CIS regions, but also divide them along fixed and mobile business lines. VimpelCom will also be reporting only active subscriber numbers from now on, ignoring millions of registered subscribers who aren't utilizing their wireless accounts for extended periods.
Going forward, VimpelCom will compete more like an AT&T
Taken overall, VimpelCom is indeed a rare breed: a company that continues to provide more disclosure to investors, including more detail on operations. Combine that with exceptional growth and profitability prospects -- and even a recent dividend of $0.58 per American depositary share (ADS) -- and I think you've got a stock worth its premium.
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