OREANDA-NEWS. On 29 May 2008 Uralsvyazinform, a universal telecom operator in the Urals Federal District, presented its non-consolidated unaudited operating and financial indicators for January-March 2008, compiled under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS).

Telecom revenue climbed Rub 774.2 mln or 8.8% in the first quarter of 2008 against the same period a year ago. Revenueprimarilyjumpedon

- an increase in wireless earnings (up Rub 309.4 mln or 11.1%) as the base of mobile users grew;

- higher earnings derived from datacom and Internet access services (up Rub 374.8 mln or 49%) owing to the rise in the subscriber base and the amount of services provided, including a 86.4% upsurge in dedicated Internet access services.

Increase (Rub 1,076.3 mln) in expenses due to:

- a 20.6% rise in depreciation charges or Rub 217.7 mln owing to the commissioning of new facilities;

- higher expenses for the services provided by telecom operators (up Rub 252.7 mln or 23.4%), as more payments were made to transmit traffic of mobile subscribers and Internet users;

- an increase in lease payments (in the item “Other Expenses”) by Rub 306 mln or 81.3%, which was attributable to higher lease payments.

Q108 investments reached Rub 774.8 mln (+108.1% against January-March 2007), including investments in value-added services (Rub 441.3 mln).