Killer investments are indeed a rare find for investors. But the CEO of Russian telecom operator VimpelCom (NYSE: VIP) claims to be one of those limited cases. Coupled with its first-quarter earnings release, operating chief Alexander Izosimov boldly claimed that "with an OIBDA [operating income before depreciation and amortization] margin above 50% and a revenue growth rate above 40%, VimpelCom remains a rare example of a large, fast growing and highly profitable business."
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 (NYSE: MBT), hasn't seemed to slow the pace of new subscribers. VimpelCom reported an increase of 6.5 million active mobile subscribers year over year, bringing its total active base to 52.3 million
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 (NYSE: T) or Verizon (NYSE: VZ), offering converged fixed and mobile voice and data services. While being a multiple-service operator like a Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) or Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) will complicate business, VimpelCom should leverage even further growth through cross-selling opportunities.
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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