Russia’s Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) reported that in Q3 2022 its consolidated group revenue increased 0.8% year-on-year to RUB137.7 billion (USD2.3 billion), driven by telecoms, fintech and media segments, although OIBDA fell by 1.3% to RUB60.5 billion and group net profit slid 25.1% y-o-y to RUB12.3 billion pressured by increased financing costs amid a higher interest rate environment, and negative FX differences caused by a weaker Russian rouble. Q3 cash CAPEX dropped by 53.1% y-o-y to RUB15.5 billion, largely due to the restrictions imposed on the purchase of network equipment in Russia.
MTS’ Russian connectivity services (fixed and mobile networks) revenue increased by 2.1% y-o-y to RUB110.3 billion in July-September 2022, while Russian sales of handsets and accessories slumped 42.1% to RUB10.3 billion. Fintech revenue grew 47.9% y-o-y in Q3 2022 to RUB18.7 billion, with the number of MTS Bank clients increasing 18.0% to 3.3 million. MTS’ over-the-top (OTT) media subscriptions grew 15% quarter-on-quarter to 5.7 million at 30 September 2022, while the total number of pay-TV viewers increased 8.4% q-o-q to 10.1 million.
A group press release commented: ‘MTS continues to implement its long-term business strategy by developing a digital services ecosystem based on a leading telecom platform. However, the level of external uncertainty remains extremely high. We have more than doubled the number of users of our MTS Premium ecosystem subscription and MTS Cashback loyalty service year-over-year. It’s important to note the continued growth of our digital businesses – KION, MTS Entertainment, MTS Music, MTS Stroki and others. We also continue to invest in new areas such as MTS Travel, Smart Home and cybersecurity.’ The statement also highlighted ‘solid development’ of B2B services based on IoT, AI and big data analytics.