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VIP

VimpelCom

5/21/2013, 4:32 AM ET

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Wednesday, May 15, 6:06 AM VimpelCom (VIP): Q1 EPS of $0.25. Revenue of $5.59B misses by $0.1B. (PR) Comment! [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech]
Friday, April 19, 1:55 PM VimpelCom (VIP +1.1%) has sold its indirect stake in Cambodian mobile carrier Sotelco to its local partner. The sale comes as VimpelCom and rival MTS continue to bid for Tele2's Russian unit, which for now is still set to be sold to state bank VTB (PR) Comment! [Tech, M&A]
Thursday, April 18, 2:05 PM VimpelCom (VIP) declares final dividend of $0.35/share. For shareholders of record Apr. 29. Payable May 15. Ex-div date Apr. 25. The board declares special dividend of $0.79/share to be payable along with final dividend. (PR) Comment! [Dividends]
Tuesday, April 2, 2:19 PM Russian carriers Vimpelcom (VIP +3.3%) and MTS (MBT +0.6%) remain committed to bidding for buying rival Tele2 Russia, even though Tele2 Russia's parent company has effectively dismissed their $4B-$4.25B offer. Sweden-based Tele2 says it was aware of all options before agreeing to sell ts Russian ops to state bank VTB for $3.5B in a deal that gives it rights (for 12 months) to half of any profits VTB gets from a resale. Comment! [Tech, M&A]
Thursday, March 28, 1:56 PM Russian mobile carriers VimpelCom (VIP +0.2%) and Mobile TeleSystems (MBT +0.3%) are prepared to offer $4B-$4.25B for rival Tele2 Russia, Bloomberg reports. Though Sweden-based Tele2 has already agreed to sell its Russian ops to local bank VTB for $2.4B + assumed debt, there have been reports of third-party interest. Billionaire Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group might also join the fray. Comment! [Tech, M&A, Breaking News]
Wednesday, March 6, 3:20 AM Vimpelcom (VIP): Q4 net profit $801M vs loss of $381M a year earlier and consensus of $477.5M. EBITDA +9.9% to $2.45B vs expectations of $2.47B. EBITDA margin 41.1% vs 37.8%. Revenue +1% to $5.95B vs forecasts of $5.88B. Subscriber base +5% to 214M. Expects capex to grow 22% in 2013. Will announce dividends in Q2. (PR) Comment! [Earnings, Tech, Consumer]
Monday, February 18, 3:00 AM Nokia (NOK), Microsoft (MSFT) and Vimpelcom (VIP) sign an agreement that will allow the latter's customers - via a "VimpelCom Shelf" - to use their cellular accounts to more easily find and buy content from the Windows Phone Store. Meanwhile, the store now offers over 125K apps in 191 countries, while Windows phones will be rolled out to over 70 countries in the next 12 months and support 50 display languages. 5 Comments [Tech, Consumer]
Wednesday, January 16, 12:58 PM VimpelCom (VIP +4.4%) treks higher after outlining its 2013-2015 objectives ahead of its Analyst & Investor Day. The Russian mobile carrier says it's shooting mid-single-digit revenue and EBITDA CAGRs, and wants to have a net debt/EBITDA ratio below 2x by the end of 2015. It also wants its capex/revenue ratio (exc. spectrum license payments) to be under 15% by the end of this period, and for $2B/year in operating cash flow improvement to be achieved. (webcast and slides) Comment! [Tech, On the Move, Earnings]
Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 8:40 AM No. 2 Russian mobile carrier MegaFon has seen its shares fall 2% in London and Moscow on their first day of trading, after raising $1.7B in an IPO that was Europe's second-largest this year (after Telefonica Deutschland). MegaFon, which sold a 15.2% stake at an $11.2B valuation, competes with top Russian carrier MTS (MBT) and No. 3 VimpelCom (VIP). Comment! [Tech]
Monday, November 26, 2012, 7:41 AM Russian antitrust regulators have ended their efforts to stop Norwegian carrier Telenor from raising its stake in VimpelCom (VIP) above a current 43%. The fact Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's Altimo (Alfa Telecom) now has 47.85% a voting stake in VimpelCom is undoubtedly a big reason why. The decision paves the way for VimpelCom to hold its annual shareholder meeting on Dec. 21. (previous) Comment! [Tech, M&A]
Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 5:21 AM Vimpelcom (VIP): Q3 net profit nearly triples to $538M vs consensus of $521M. EBITDA -2% to $2.53B for 44% profit margin vs forecasts of $2.51B and 43.7%. Consolidated revenue -6% to $5.75B, in line with forecasts, hurt by weakness in almost all its operating currencies against the dollar. Organic revenue growth, which excludes forex fluctuations, +3%; mobile subscribers +7% to 212M. (PR) Comment! [Earnings, Tech, Consumer]
Monday, October 29, 2012, 11:28 AM Russia's VimpelCom (VIP) is planning to sell several of its emerging markets units as part of an effort to focus on more developed markets, the FT reports. One source claims the planned sale of VimpelCom's holdings in Burundi, Zimbabwe, and the Central African Republic could yield over $60M. Also on the block are carriers in Cambodia and Laos. 1 Comment [Tech, M&A]
Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 3:55 PM VimpelCom (VIP +9.6%) soars in afternoon trading on news that Russia's Alfa Group has increased its voting stake in the carrier to 40.5% from a prior 25%, courtesy of a $3.6B purchase from Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris. Alfa's stake now surpasses the 39.5% stake held by Norwegian carrier Telenor, whose efforts to increase its position have produced a hostile regulatory response. Alfa, which wants to buy more shares, expects Telenor to raise its stake to 43%. (VIP Q2 results) Comment! [Tech, On the Move, M&A]
Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 2:50 AM VimpelCom (VIP): Q2 net profit +83% to $488M vs. consensus of $340.3M. EBITDA +2% to $2.48B vs. $2.38B. Revenue -4% to $5.7B, in line with forecasts. (PR) Comment! [Tech, Consumer]
Monday, June 25, 2012, 7:06 PM The bad times may be about to get worse for European mobile carriers. Thanks to a bleak macro environment and triple-digit penetration rates (the result of consumers owning multiple devices), some countries are actually reporting subscriber declines. Meanwhile, competition remains intense, and mobile data adoption is both pressuring voice revenue and leading to escalating capex needs. This could prove a toxic mix for debt-laden incumbents such as TEF, TI, and FTE. Comment! [Tech, Quick Ideas]
Friday, May 25, 2012, 10:39 AM Russian mobile carrier VimpelCom (VIP -10.9%) slumps after receiving an injunction from Russian antitrust regulators that stems from a ruling shareholder Telenor illegally acquired preferred shares of VimpleCom from fellow carrier Weather Investments. As a result, a VimpelCom subsidiary is barred from paying dividends, and the powers of its board and auditors have been suspended. This, in turn, has led VimpelCom itself to defer a dividend payment. (previous) 2 Comments [Tech, On the Move]