Competition hits K’cell results

The largest mobile provider in Kazakhstan, TeliaSonera-backed K’cell, has reported a 23.6% year-on-year drop in net income for the first half of 2015 to KZT24.6 billion (USD131.3 million). The firm said the fall was due to rising competition and aggressive pricing policies among its competitors. Revenues dropped 6.6% to KZT86 billion, while EBITDA was down 13.5% at KZT46 billion, Reuters reports. Subscriber numbers fell by 653,000 in the year to 30 June 2015, to 10.75 million, though K’cell is still around five percentage points ahead of second-placed KaR-Tel in terms of market share, claiming 41% of all mobile users in Kazakhstan.