Rostelecom revenue to IFRS falls 0.8% to 80.4 bln rubles in Q4, below forecast
MOSCOW. March 6 (Interfax) - Rostelecom revenue to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) fell 0.8% to 80.4 billion rubles in Q4 2016, from 81 billion rubles in Q4 2015.
Operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) was 24.4 billion rubles, 6% lower than the previous year while the OIBDA margin fell to 30.3% from 31.9%.
The company's net profit in Q4 fell 13% to 3.6 billion rubles, from 4.1 billion rubles in Q4 2015.
Rostelecom's results are lower than a consensus that Interfax conducted among analysts and investment banks, who expected revenue to grow 0.7% to 81.6 billion rubles and OIBDA to fall 4.2% to 24.7 billion rubles. The OIBDA margin was in line with the forecast.
Free cash flow increased 72% year-on-year to 15.6 billion rubles in Q4. Free cash flow dynamics were driven by an increase in proceeds generated from the sale of property and income tax refunds and due to capex being markedly weighted in H1.
Capex decreased by 22% to 15.1 billion rubles in Q4, excluding the "Bridging the Digital Divide" project. Capex was 18.7% of revenue against 23.9% of revenue in the fourth quarter 2015.
Total debt at the end of December stood at 187.1 billion rubles compared with 186.6 billion rubles a year earlier. Around 99.7% of total debt was ruble-denominated.
As at December 31, 2016, the group's net debt amounted to 177.5 billion rubles, up from 173.7 billion rubles in 2015 with a net debt/OIBDA ratio of 1.8x against 1.7x. The company expects to pay off 68 billion rubles of debt in 2017.
Operating expenses fell 3.6% to 69.2 billion rubles in Q4. Personnel costs were 21.9 billion rubles, 3.1% lower than a year earlier. Interconnection charges remained virtually unchanged from 2015 at 15.5 billion rubles. The cost of materials, repairs, maintenance and utilities declined 1.7% to 7.6 billion rubles.