OREANDA-NEWS. On 18 May 2009 Rostelecom (NYSE: ROS; RTS, MICEX: RTKM, RTKMP), Russia’s national telecommunications operator, announced its unaudited first quarter 2009 results in accordance with the Russian Accounting Standards (RAS).

In the first quarter of 2009, Rostelecom delivered stable financial results despite the negative impact of the global economic crisis on the Company’s operating environment.

Rostelecom’s first quarter 2009 revenue totaled RUB 15,375.1 million.

The Company continued to actively diversify its business, increasing the proportion of innovative services contributing to total revenue during the period. In comparison with the first quarter of 2008, the share of data and intelligent network services doubled and amounted to 10.2% of total revenue.

First quarter 2009 incoming ILD traffic totaled 846.2 million minutes representing a year-on-year increase of 12.9% as Rostelecom continued to leverage its strong market position. Revenues from international operators for incoming ILD traffic transit and termination rose 29.0% year on year to RUB 1,713.5 million.

Rostelecom’s first quarter 2009 revenue from new and value-added services, including data, leased lines and intelligent network services as well as others, increased by 19.0% year on year to RUB 4,208.1 million. Revenue from data transmission and telematic services in 1Q2009 totaled RUB 1,296.1 million, representing a substantial increase of 2.7 times the 1Q2008 figure.

Rostelecom’s operating expenses for the accounting period amounted to RUB 13,089.6 million representing a year-on-year increase of 11.1%. The primary drivers behind this increase were the higher payments due to international operators as a result of Russian Ruble devaluation and the growth in international transit traffic.

OIBDA amounted to RUB 3,379.6 million, representing an OIBDA margin of 22.0% - exceeding the expected figure by 1.1%.

First quarter 2009 operating profit was RUB 2,285.5 million.

Other gains and losses for the first three months of 2009 totaled a net gain of RUB 197.6 million compared to RUB 87.9 million a year ago. The increase was mainly driven by a higher net interest gain, a substantial decrease in loss from the revaluation of financial investments and a foreign exchange gain in the accounting period compared to a foreign exchange loss in the first quarter of 2008.

As a result, Rostelecom’s first quarter 2009 net profit was RUB 1,980.4 million.