SSTL Q4 net loss widens to Rs 1,200 cr

Company's net income continues to be negative due to aggressive expansion plans, nature of telecom business

Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL) today said its net loss widened to Rs 1,197.7 crore for the fourth quarter ended December 31.

This is against a net loss of Rs 605.1 crore in the October-December quarter of 2010.

The company, whose 21 licences have been cancelled by the Supreme Court, exuded confidence that the issues in the sector will be resolved soon. In February, the apex court had cancelled 122 telecom licences in the 2G spectrum case.

On yearly basis, the net loss for SSTL, which operates under the MTS brand, widened to Rs 3,531.4 crore in 2011 from Rs 2,168.6 crore in 2010.

"Due to the nature of the telecom business and the aggressive expansion plans of the company, net income continues to be negative. In addition, the current operating environment also remains uncertain," SSTL President and CEO Vsevolod Rozanov said.

On the company's future plans in view of the cancellation of telecom licences, he said, "In spite of all these challenges, SSTL remains committed to further expand its voice and data business and looks upon the Indian government to move fast to resolve all issues being faced by the telecom sector."

The company's consolidated revenue, however, has increased to Rs 392.3 crore ($76 million) for Q4 2011 from Rs 193.7 crore in Q4 2010, driven by strong growth in revenues from data and value added services.

Consolidated revenues for the year grew to Rs 1,234.9 crore ($262 million).

Blended mobile average revenue per user for the quarter and year increased by 2.4% and 9% to Rs 87 and Rs 84, respectively.

Minutes of usage (MoU) for Q4 2011 declined to 288 minutes as compared to 291 minutes in Q3 2011, mainly because of the decreasing share of free on-net minutes.

Non-voice revenues from data and mobile VAS, which contributes about 33% of total quarterly revenues, increased 22% in Q4 to Rs 128.1 crore.

SSTL's mobile subscriber base increased by 13.2% quarter-on-quarter and reached 15.02 million customers as of December 31, 2011.

The company said the capex investments made in India at the end of December 31, 2011 stands at Rs 6,443 crore.

This includes the investment of Rs 199.8 crore made during Q4 2011.

Accumulated losses of SSTL as at December 31, 2011 aggregated to Rs 7,898 crore and consolidated debt from banks and financial institutions at the end of Q4 2011 stood at Rs 8,380 crore.