Sistema, one of Russia’s largest diversified holding companies, saw first quarter 2012 net profit skyrocket 292 percent year-on-year to $380.9 million to US GAAP, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
Sistema’s first quarter net profit was above a consensus forecast of analysts polled by RIA Novosti of $376.2 million, with Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (OIBDA) rising 17.2 percent year-on-year to $2.02 billion, as revenue increased 9.3 percent year-on-year to $7.92 billion.
“Our improved performance year-on-year was largely driven by the core assets portfolio, where higher quality of the subscriber base, increased data consumption and optimized costs contributed to a 10 percent OIBDA increase at MTS [Russian mobile operator], while higher oil prices and a one-off gain from previous provisions increased Bashneft’s revenue and OIBDA by 13 percent and 11 percent, respectively,” Sistema President and CEO Mikhail Shamolin was quoted in the statement.
Sistema’s net cash position at the corporate holding level amounted to $334.8 million compared to net debt of $1.183 billion in the first quarter of 2011.