OREANDA-NEWS. December 14, 2009. The Board of Directors of Svyazinvest (hereinafter, the Company) held a meeting in Moscow on November 24, 2009.The board heard a report by the management of the Company on the current status of the Svyazinvest Group of Companies and measures which are to be undertaken to stabilize the Group’s position amid the financial crisis. 

The report pointed out that the Group’s companies achieved their goals for operating profit, net profit and EBITDA.  On the whole, the Group is expected to raise its full-year 2009 EBITDA performance by 11.6%, while revenue should go up 5% compared with 2008.In 2009 management’s main efforts have been focused on ensuring sufficient financing for the Group’s companies and the biggest possible cash flow. The Board of Directors took under advisement a report on the current status of the Svyazinvest Group of Companies and measures designed to stabilize its position amid the financial crisis.A report was also submitted to the Board of Directors of the company with an analysis of the major economic indicators of CenterTelecom.  Speaking at the meeting, the general director of Vaagn Martinosyan pointed out that despite fierce competition Center Telecom remains the leader of the telecommunications market of the Central Federal District of Russia. 

Management has focused in 2009 on supporting rapid growth in the value-added services segment, raising revenue from traditional telephony, upgrading technical infrastructure, boosting operating margin and cutting costs. At present, the main growth driver for the company’s revenue is the Internet services segment.  CenterTelecom has achieved phenomenal expansion on the broadband Internet market, and expects its subscriber base to exceed 1 million by the end of 2009.   The company has shown robust growth in all metrics of its operating efficiency, intends to considerably raise ROIC in 2009 and become the leader among RTOs in terms of EBITDA margin, which is expected to come in at 43%.  CenterTelecom efficiently manages its investment budget, raising the share of highly profitable projects and reducing the term of their payback period. 

In full-year 2009 the company expects to reach all of its KPI targets.  The Board of Directors of the company took under advisement the report on the headline financial and operating indicators of CenterTelecom.The Board of Directors also reviewed other issues concerning the internal, administrative and business activities of the Company.

The persons who attended in the Company’s Board of Directors were as follows:       

  1. Mikhail Robertovich Butrin, managing director of VTB-Invest;       
  2. Mikhail Alexandrovich Leschenko, deputy director general of Svyazinvest;       
  3. Konstantin Valeryevich Malofeyev, managing partner of direct investment fund Marshall Capital Partners;      
  4. Marlen Jeraldovich Manasov, member of the board of directors or UBS Bank;       
  5. Sergey Vladimirovich Pridantsev, president of Comstar;
  6. Leonid Dododzhonovich Reiman, advisor to the President of the Russian Federation;
  7. Ivan Ivanovich Rodionov, professor of state university Higher School of Economics;
  8. Nikita Dmitrievich Ryauzov, managing director of MDM-Bank.