Sistema flags higher dividend after return to profit

Sistema is controlled by billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov

Russian oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Sistema said it was in a position to pay a "substantially" higher dividend after it swung to profit in the fourth quarter of last year compared with a loss in the same period the year before.

The company, whose biggest assets are Russia's top mobile phone operator MTS and mid-sized oil producer Bashneft , said on Tuesday it made a net profit of $200.9 million in the last three months of 2012 versus a net loss of $530.2 million the same time the previous year.

That loss was due to a near $700 million write-off related to a decision by the Supreme Court of India to cancel licenses held by its local telecom unit SSTL over alleged irregularities in the way they were awarded in 2008.

Sistema, controlled by billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov, said management planned to persuade the board to approve a "substantially" higher dividend for last year, confirming intentions first announced last November.

Chief Executive Mikhail Shamolin told a news conference the board would consider the management's dividend recommendations at a meeting on Saturday, without providing details.

He also said Sistema was still in talks to acquire European petroleum product firm Argos as well as Russian drugmaker Veropharm - plans unveiled last year but which have been held back by a failure to agree with the sellers on price.

Sistema, which also has assets in banking, retail, high technology and agriculture, has been making acquisitions to further diversify its portfolio.

The firm bid for fewer licences than it originally had in the Indian telecoms auction re-run last month and said it would hold back on major investment in its Indian unit to concentrate on making the operation profitable.

Its underlying fourth-quarter net profit, excluding non-cash items, rose 37% on-year to $357.9 million, while revenues were up 13% to $9.45 billion.

Its full-year net profit stood at $946.8 million, up from $218 million in 2011, with revenues rising 4 percent to $34.24 billion, boosted by growth at MTS and higher sales at Bashneft.