SSTL narrows down loss to Rs 438 cr in Q3

Reports a 20% increase in revenue to Rs 342.7 crore in July-September quarter

Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL), which operates under the MTS brand in India, on Tuesday reported its net loss of Rs 438 crore in July-September quarter, narrowed down from Rs 760 crore reported in the corresponding quarter previous financial year. The company, in which Russian conglomerate Sistema is the major partner, reported a 20 per cent increase in revenue to Rs 342.7 crore in the quarter as compared with Rs 284.4 crore in same period last year. It operates in nine of the 22 telecom zones in the country.

“During the quarter, our non-voice revenues grew by 14 per cent, thereby contributing 43 per cent of the total revenues. Our net income improved by 42 per cent mainly on account of a significant reduction in forex loss,” said Dmitry Shukov, chief executive officer, Sistema Shyam Teleservices.

The company reported a forex loss of Rs 60.7 crore in the quarter as compared to Rs 207 crore in the corresponding period in 2013.

SSTL's data card subscriber base increased by 6.3 per cent to 15 lakh during the quarter.

The company saw an increase of 14 per cent in non-voice revenue that includes mobile internet and other value added services at Rs 147.5 crore.

"Success of SSTL's data strategy is evident with non-voice revenues contributing 43 per cent of total quarterly revenues, highest in the industry. To further strengthen the data story in India, it is imperative that the government comes out with a clear roadmap on spectrum sharing and trading," Shukov said.

He said that the company is unable to make its future investment plans due to lack of clarity on CDMA spectrum auction.

The company's operating income before depreciation and amortisation – an indicator of cash flow, loss – reduced by 53 per cent year-on-year at Rs 103.7 crore from Rs 219.7 crore reported in third quarter of the previous financial year.

"Non voice revenue growth along with cost control has helped margins to improve further during the quarter.

The go forward plan includes, continuing with investments in operations to drive maximum value from our 3G Plus network," SSTL acting Chief Financial Officer Vinay Mittal said.

SSTL's mobile subscriber base during the reported period remained flat quarter-on-quarter basis and reached 92 lakh.