Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (SSTL), which operates its telecom services under the MTS brand in India, on Monday announces its unaudited consolidated financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014. Revenue in Q2 2014 increased by 15% year-on-year to INR 3,348 million, the improvement is driven largely by increase in data revenues.

“During the quarter our consolidated revenues grew by 5% Q-o-Q, driven by growth in non-voice revenues. These results are a testament of the market acceptance of our world class 3G plus network. Going forward, we expect strong momentum to continue, especially in our data business”, said Dmitry Shukov, Chief Executive Officer of Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd.

Financial Summary:

In the reporting period, SSTL’s mobile subscriber base increased by 1.4% quarter-on-quarter and reached 9.2 million customers as of June 30th, 2014. SSTL’s mobile subscribers’ MoU for Q2 2014 improved to 416 min vs. 414 min in Q1 2014.  Non-voice revenues for the quarter increased by 14% to INR 1,291 million from data and mobile VAS.

“Our priority is to drive revenue growth in data for the Company with strict focus on achieving profitability. The plan is to continue investing in our data business and at the same time, through discipline ensure improvement in our OIBDA margins”, said Sergey Savchenko, Chief Financial Officer of Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd. 

 Key Financial & Operational Highlights for the Second Quarter 2014:

• Consolidated revenues increased by 5% Q-o-Q to INR 3,348 million (USD 55.9 million), mainly on account of data revenue growth.

• Blended mobile ARPU for the quarter increased by 7.7% to INR 115 (USD 1.92) on account of increase in data usage.

• Non-Voice revenues grew 14% during the quarter. The Company’s data card subscriber base for the quarter increased by 8.5% to 1.4 million subscribers.

• Success of SSTL’s data strategy is evident with non-voice revenues contributing 38.6% of total quarterly revenues, the highest in the industry. The contribution of Non-voice revenues increased by 331bps during the quarter.

• Minutes of usage increased marginally by 0.5% to 416 during the quarter (Q-o-Q).

• SSTL’s HSD services now cover over 650 towns across 9 circles.

• Consolidated OIBDA loss for the quarter stands at INR 1,365 million (USD 22.7 million).