Comstar UTS Announces Second Quarter 2006 Key Operating Data.MOSCOW -- "COMSTAR COMSTAR COMmon System for Technical Analysis and Reporting - United TeleSystems" OJSC OJSC Open Joint Stock Company ("Comstar UTS (Universal Timesharing System) Amdahl's version of Unix System V. Release 4.0 is POSIX compliant. ") (LSE LSE - Language Sensitive Editor :CMST CMST Capacitated Minimum Spanning Tree (problem) CMST Characterization, Monitoring, and Sensor Technology CMST Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology ), the leading provider of integrated communications services in Moscow, today announced the key performance indicators Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are financial and non-financial metrics used to quantify objectives to reflect strategic performance of an organization. KPIs are used in Business Intelligence to assess the present state of the business and to prescribe a course of action. for its alternative and traditional fixed line telecommunications Communicating information, including data, text, pictures, voice and video over long distance. See communications. business segments for the second quarter ending 30 June June: see month. 2006. HIGHLIGHTS --Broadband Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the subscriber base in Moscow up 73% or 126,927 subscribers year-on-year to the total 301,045 subscribers --StreamTV subscriber base in Moscow has doubled to 28,556 customers since the end of the first quarter of 2006 --Acquisition of operator Astelit, made in June 2006, added 5% or 361 large corporate subscribers in the regions outside Moscow compared to the end of the first quarter of 2006 --41,459 new residential subscribers of MGTS MGTS Message Generator Traffic Simulator MGTS Message Generation Test System increasing Traditional fixed line subscriber base in Moscow by 1% year-on-year to the total 3.63 million subscribers Eric ERIC Educational Research Information Clearinghouse ERIC Educational Resources Information Center ERIC ERISA Industry Committee ERIC Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (Durham, NC) Franke Franke is a Swiss company involved primarily in the production of stainless steel and composite plastic sinks and taps. It is also involved in the making of kitchen systems such as cookers, kitchen accessories such as strainer bowls and food preparation platters. , Chief Executive Officer of Comstar UTS, commented: "I am pleased to see that the measures introduced by the Company shortly before I joined received a positive reception in the market. Since the introduction of a bundled broadband broadband Term describing the radiation from a source that produces a broad, continuous spectrum of frequencies (contrasted with a laser, which produces a single frequency or very narrow range of frequencies). offering in May 2006 we managed to double our pay - TV subscriber base quarter-on-quarter, despite a seasonal slow-down. I believe that our bundled tariff tariff, tax on imported and, more rarely, exported goods. It is also called a customs duty. Tariffs may be distinguished from other taxes in that their predominant purpose is not financial but economic—not to increase a nation's revenue but to protect domestic coupled with the recent rebranding Rebranding is the process by which a product or service developed with one brand or company or product line affiliation is marketed or distributed with a different identity. campaign are the key drivers for the growth of this strategically important segment of the business. Our selective approach towards regional expansion- acquisition of Astelit- helped us in acquiring new corporate subscribers and their addition to our regional client base. We are planning to build on the current achievements". ALTERNATIVE SEGMENT Moscow
June 30, June 30, Change
2006 2005
Residential Subscribers
Broadband "Stream" Internet 301 045 174 118 73%
Of which "Stream" Internet+TV
(double play)* 28 556 - -
Dial-up 140 486 249 850 (44%)
Voice 5 076 5 014 1%
Total Residential subscribers 446 607 428 982 4%
Corporate subscribers 32 320 29 517 9%
Operators 358 364 (2%)
Total subscribers 479 285 458 863 4%
Active telephone lines
Corporate 137 386 119 825 15%
Fixed line Operators 120 516 105 328 14%
Mobile Operators 325 572 323 571 1%
Residential 8 629 7 780 11%
Total Active Telephone lines 592 103 556 504 6%
Installed capacity (telephone lines) 630 300 598 600 5%
ADSL and data transmission channels (realized
by alternative operators of Comstar-UTS to
corporate subscribers in Moscow) 27 912 21 499 30%
*With the introduction of bundled offer in May 2006, StreamTV subscriber base is included in the total number of Broadband Internet See broadband. subscribers Comstar UTS' alternative segment of the business grew much more dynamically compared to the traditional part of the business. The total number of subscribers in the alternative segment in Moscow increased by 20,422 to 479,285 customers which represented a 4% growth year-on-year. At the end of the second quarter the number of residential subscribers increased by 17,625 year-on-year and reached 446,607 customers. During the year the Company was actively promoting the broadband offering by introducing new services and tariff plans. These measures included the commercial launch of StreamTV in September September: see month. of 2005, the introduction of double-play bundle and the launch of multimedia services, such as pay-per-view, gaming portals and radio channels. The total number of our broadband subscribers increased by 126,927 to 301,045 customers, representing 73% growth year-on-year. By the end of the second quarter 2006 Comstar UTS has added 17,738 net broadband subscribers despite traditionally slow season during the summer months from 283,307 subscribers at the end of the first quarter 2006. The total number of Stream TV subscribers, including bundled tariff subscribers, has doubled quarter-on-quarter from 14,271 in the end of the first quarter 2006 and reached 28,556 customers. The total number of residential dial-up subscribers declined by 44% year-on-year to 140,486 customers, which was in line with the rest of the market. The reduction was offset by a 73% year-on-year growth in broadband internet subscribers. The total number of corporate subscribers in Moscow rose by 9% to 32,320 customers, representing 2,803 net additions year-on-year. During the first half of 2006 Comstar UTS experienced the lower than expected growth in corporate subscribers which resulted from the changes in the regulation of long distance voice services and the corresponding need to renegotiate re·ne·go·ti·ate tr.v. re·ne·go·ti·at·ed, re·ne·go·ti·at·ing, re·ne·go·ti·ates 1. To negotiate anew. 2. To revise the terms of (a contract) so as to limit or regain excess profits gained by the contractor. the existing contracts. The Company believes that this issue will be resolved by the end of 2006. The total number of active telephone lines increased by 35,599 to 592,103 year-on-year while the installed capacity increased by 31,700 year-on-year to 630,300. Regions
Change December Change
June 31, June 30,
March 30, 2005** 2006 vs.
June 30, 31, 2006 December
2006 2006** vs. 31, 2005
March
31,
2006
Residential subscribers
Broadband 303 48 531% 43 605%
Dial-up 6 461 6 311 2% 7 745 (17%)
Voice 76 107 75 746 0% 76 278 0%
Total Residential
subscribers 82 871 82 105 1% 84 066 (1%)
Corporate subscribers 8 153 7 792 5% 6 847 19%
Operators 51 50 2% 36 42%
Total Subscribers 91 075 89 947 1% 90 949 0%
** Revised from the previous results announcement for the two previous quarters due to a delay in reporting by one of the regions. This revision does not have any impact on the previously reported financial results. The regional operations segment was added to the Comstar UTS' financial results in the fourth quarter of 2005, hence the Company can not provide a relevant year-on-year comparison. The number of corporate subscribers in the regions increased by 361 to 8,153 customers quarter-on-quarter, which represented a 5% growth compared to the end of the first quarter of 2006 primarily due to the acquisition of regional operator Astelit in June 2006. TRADITIONAL SEGMENT Moscow
June 30, 2006 June 30, 2005 Change
Subscribers
Residential 3 553 354 3 511 895 1%
Corporate 75 513 76 190 (1%)
Operators 214 198 8%
------------- -------------
Total 3 629 081 3 588 283 1%
Active telephone lines
Residential 3 553 354 3 511 895 1%
Corporate 726 668 724 061 0%
------------- -------------
Total 4 280 022 4 235 956 1%
Installed capacity (telephone lines) 4 691 883 4 548 004 3%
Access nodes
Corporate 29 554 31 293 (6%)
Operators 184 000 152 039 21%
------------- -------------
Total 213 554 183 332 16%
The total number of subscribers in Traditional segment amounted to 3,629,081 customers reflecting 1% in relative terms, while in absolute numbers this segment has added a significant number of 40,798 net subscribers. Such an increase resulted from the growth of residential client base by 41,459 year-on-year to 3,553,354 subscribers due to the active development of housing market in Moscow. The number of corporate subscribers declined year-on-year, primarily due to the migration of corporate customers to the alternative fixed line segment which offers a wider range of services. Comstar UTS increased its number capacity by 143,879 year-on-year to 4,691,883, while the number of active lines grew by 44,066 in the same period to 4,280,022, enabling the Company to satisfy customers' demand in full in the near future. Comstar-UTS plans to release its first half 2006 financial results in the beginning of October 2006. For further information, please visit www.comstar-uts.com Comstar UTS is a leading provider of integrated communications services in Moscow and the Moscow region in terms of revenues and subscribers and also offers communications services in other regions of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), community of independent nations established by a treaty signed at Minsk, Belarus, on Dec. 8, 1991, by the heads of state of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Between Dec. 8 and Dec. . Comstar UTS had 4.9 million subscribers at June 31, 2006. Comstar UTS offers voice, data and Internet, pay-TV and various value-added services A value-added service (VAS) is a telecommunications industry term for non-core services or, in short, all services beyond standard voice calls and fax transmissions. to corporate, operator and residential subscribers, using its alternative and traditional fixed-line networks. Comstar UTS had combined operating revenues operating revenue Revenue from any regular source. Revenue from sales is adjusted for discounts and returns when calculating operating revenue. Compare other revenue. of US$ 249.8 million for the first three months of 2006 and Comstar UTS' assets totalled US$ 2.67 billion at March 31, 2006. Comstar UTS ordinary shares are listed on the Moscow Stock Exchange and on the London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange London marketplace for securities. It was formed in 1773 by a group of stockbrokers who had been doing business informally in local coffeehouses. under the symbol "CMST". Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. regarding future events or the future financial performance of Comstar UTS. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "will," "could," "may" or "might" the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Comstar UTS wishes to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. Comstar UTS does not intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances CIRCUMSTANCES, evidence. The particulars which accompany a fact. 2. The facts proved are either possible or impossible, ordinary and probable, or extraordinary and improbable, recent or ancient; they may have happened near us, or afar off; they are public or occurring after the date hereof here·of adv. Of this. hereof Adverb Formal or law of or concerning this Adv. 1. hereof - of or concerning this; "the twigs hereof are physic" or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in projections or forward-looking statements of Comstar UTS, including, among others, general economic conditions, the competitive environment, risks associated with operating in Russia, rapid technological and market change in the industries Comstar UTS operates in, as well as many other risks specifically related to Comstar UTS and its operations. |
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