OREANDA-NEWS. On 22 June 2009 Open Joint Stock Company "MegaFon", first pan-Russian mobile operator, announced its financial and operational results for Q1 2009.  

Key Financial and Operational Results for Q1 2009  

·         The Company's consolidated revenue grew 11.7% y-o-y to RUR 42,196 million  

·         The Company's net income grew 20.2% y-o-y, reaching RUR 11,126 million

·         The Company's EBITDA grew 10.3% y-o-y to RUR 20,913 million

·         EBITDA margin for the first three months of 2009 was 49.6%

·         The Company's Free Cash Flow in Q1 2009 reached RUR 10,688 million[1] 

·         The number of the Company's subscribers as of Q1 2009 was 43.5 million.

Main Corporate and Industry Events in Q1 2009 and Significant Subsequent Events  

·         At the end of January 2009, MegaFon was selected a general partner of the 2014 XXII Olympic Winter Games.

·         In March 2009, S&P international credit rating agency confirmed the Company’s credit rating of BB+ with positive outlook

·         In April 2009, the Company strengthened its operational management by appointing as Chief Operating Officer, Mr.  Valery Ermakov, erstwhile General Director of MegaFon’s Povolzhie subsidiary, OJSC “MCS-Povolzhie”.

·         In May 2009, Moody’s international credit rating agency upgraded the outlook on the Company’s corporate rating from Ba2 “stable” credit rating to Ba2 “positive”.

·         In May 2009, MegaFon won the Grand-prix competition “Absolute Brand-2009”, which is one of the top brand awards in Russia.

·         In June 2009, Fitch international credit rating agency also upgraded their outlook on the  Company corporate rating  from BB+ “stable” to BB+ “positive”.  

·         In June 2009, the Company entered into a credit facility agreement with China Development Bank Corporation for up to USD 300 million with interest at LIBOR plus 2.7%. The loan is intended for purchase of Huawei equipment.  

Sergey Soldatenkov, Chief Executive Officer of OJSC "MegaFon", commented on the results: “Q1 2009 has probably seen the most uncertain period in this turbulent global macroeconomic environment. Our subscribers  decreased their monthly usage and spending, and new subscriber additions slowed. Consistent with our philosophy to provide continuing value for money to our subscribers, we launched a number of marketing initiatives to help our subscribers better cope with the uncertain environment.

As a result, we are seeing  some positive signs of  stabilization in these operational trends.  Our   MegaFon’s team  also demonstrated its ability to manage under uncertainty by  continuing to grow our year-on-year Q1 revenue and EBITDA in national currency.  Importantly, our bottom line Q1 net income performance grew year-on-year 20.2%, significantly exceeding other industry players. The Company’s financial position is currently the strongest in the industry, which will allow us to continue investing in our core business growth and to pursue other competitive opportunities.”