OREANDA-NEWS. Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (SSTL), which operates its telecom services under the MTS brand in India, announces its unaudited consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2012.

Key Financial & Operational Highlights for the Fourth Quarter and for FY 2012

- SSTL's focus during the quarter was on retaining subscribers, controlling expenses and preparing for auction participation.

- Inspite of the uncertainties, SSTL's revenue remained largely stable in Q4 and continued to expand year-on-year. Consolidated revenues for the quarter down by just 3% to INR 3,902 million (USD 72 million) but for the full year up by 31% to INR 16,192 million (USD 303 million).

- Non Voice revenuesnow contribute 36.8% of total quarterly revenuesand the contribution has increased by 15bps for the quarter. Non-voice revenues from both data and mobile VAS for the quarter declined by 3% to INR 1,437 million (USD 27 million) but for the full year 2012 improved by 56% to INR 5,831 million (USD 109 million).

- Blended mobileARPU for the quarter increased by 2%to INR 79 but for the full year 2012 declined by 3% to INR 81.

- SSTL's data card subscriber base for the quarter declined by 2% to 1.78 million subscribers. The data card subscriber base declined mainly due to uncertainties and the new regulatory requirements for customer registration.

The Company recorded lowest full year OIBDA loss in last three years. Consolidated OIBDA loss for the quarter and year stands at INR 2,786 million (USD 51 million) and INR 14,456 million (USD 271 million), respectively. Yearly OIBDA margins improved 64 p.p.

According to Vsevolod Rozanov, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd, "During the quarter, our focus was on retaining subscribers, controlling expenses and preparing for auctions. Post Auctions, SSTL secured spectrum in 8 of its core circles. With Rajasthan circle also a part of SSTL's footprint, we will be able to potentially service 40% of country's population, address around 60% of data business potential, safeguard 75% of our current revenues and significantly optimize our losses. We now look forward to turning the page on last year's uncertainties and building an even stronger business in India through continued focus on our data centric-voice enabled strategy."