Sistema Shyam won't hold IPO in 'foreseeable future'

By Olga Razumovskaya, Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday 14 September 2011

Official announcement from Indian mobile operator follows talk of possible IPO in 2012.

Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd., the Indian mobile phone unit of Russian conglomerate AFK Sistema, won't hold an initial public offering in India "in the foreseeable future," Sistema's president and chief executive said Wednesday. "There is no IPO planned in the foreseeable future," Mikhail Shamolin said at a press conference. The announcement comes despite comments from Sistema Shyam President Vsevolod Rozanov on Sept. 8 that the company could float in India in 2012. He said that if the Indian government's new telecommunications policy, expected to come into effect in October, is more favorable to the market than the current one, the company may set a date for an IPO as soon as six to nine months after the policy is issued.

Sistema Shyam: India IPO Possible In 2012 If Policy Favorable

MOSCOW -(Dow Jones)- Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd.'s (SSTL) President Vsevolod Rozanov said Thursday that the Indian government's new telecommunications policy expected in October would influence its decision on whether to hold an initial public offering in the country.

If the policy is more favorable to the Indian telecoms market than the current policy, the company may set a date for an IPO as soon as six to nine months after the policy is issued, Rozanov said.

Sistema Shyam, an Indian unit of Russia's OAO AFK Sistema (AFKS.RS), now has a market share of 1.38%, which is expected to grow by 0.5 percentage point annually, taking it to just under 4% within five years, he said.

The company's net profit in the second quarter of 2011 was practically unchanged at 6.575 billion Indian rupees ($142 million) compared with a year earlier. Its operating income before taxes, depreciation and amortization margin fell from -627% to -236% over the same period, in line with the company's plans, Rozanov said.

Sistema Shyam plans to be in the black in the last quarter of 2013.

AFK Sistema owns 56.68% of Sistema Shyam, India's Shyam Telecom owns 24%, the Russian government's Federal Agency for State Property Management of the Russian Federation, or Rosimushchestvo, owns 17.14%, and other shareholders own 2.18%.

India's largest phone providers include Bharti Airtel Ltd. (532454.BY), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL), Vodafone Essar Ltd. and Reliance Communications Ltd. (532712.BY).

Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires

Sistema Q2 loss at Rs 657.6 cr ; Debt now at Rs 5736 crores !

New Delhi: Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL), which operates telecom services under the MTS brand, today reported a net loss of Rs 657.6 crore for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 661.3 crore for the same quarter of the previous fiscal, SSTL said in a statement.

SSTL's revenues rose to Rs 278.2 crore in the April-June quarter of FY'12, up 164 per cent from Rs 105.5 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

The company said overall revenues have continuously grown by over Rs 40 crore per quarter over the last four quarters.

"In spite of the continued challenges faced by the telecom industry in India, SSTL is on track to successfully execute its data-centric, voice-enabled strategy," SSTL President and Chief Executive Officer Vsevolod Rozanov said.

Non-voice revenues from both data and mobile value-added services for the quarter were up 36 per cent quarter-on-quarter at Rs 79.69 crore, contributing 29 per cent of the company's total revenue.

Blended mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) for the last three quarters remained consistent at Rs 82, the company said.

SSTL's data card subscriber base for the quarter rose by 40 per cent to 820,000 subscribers. SSTL added 236,000 data card subscribers during the quarter, the highest number of additions it has registered in a single quarter till date, the company said.

Mobile subscribers' minutes of usage (MoU) declined to 295 minutes in Q2, 2011, from 305 minutes in Q1, 2011. The decline in the MoU was mainly because of the reduced quantity of free on-net minutes offered by the company to its subscribers.

SSTL's mobile subscriber base stood at 11.7 million customers as of June 30, 2011. By the end of the second quarter of FY'12, SSTL had expanded its high-speed mobile data services to more than 200 cities in India, including all five metros. The number of data subscribers increased by 40 per cent vis-a-vis Q1, 2011, to 820,000.

"Our revenue growth continues to be faster than our growth in wireless subscribers. In the current quarter, our blended mobile ARPU remained consistent, as against a declining trend in the market. This is a strong reflection of our continued efforts to target quality customers," SSTL Chief Financial Officer Sergey Savchenko said.

The capital expenditure made by SSTL in India by the end of Q2, 2011, stood at Rs 6,080 crore, including an investment of Rs 252.7 crore during Q2, 2011.

The company's consolidated debt liability at the end of Q2, 2011, stood at Rs 5,736.7 crore.

Vodafone to market Sistema Shyam's CDMA-based data service

Vodafone to market Sistema Shyam's CDMA-based data services

Thomas K. Thomas

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New Delhi, Aug. 31: 

Vodafone has signed a franchisee agreement with Sistema Shyam to sell CDMA-based data services on a revenue-sharing basis.

According to the agreement, Vodafone will market CDMA dongles under a new brand, Netcruise. The service will ride on Sistema Shyam's spectrum and network infrastructure. While billing and collection is to be done by Sistema Shyam, Vodafone will get a share of the revenue generated from Netcruise subscribers.

The service, which was launched as a pilot in few areas a month ago, is now being extended across the country.

Sistema Shyam offers mobile services under the MTS brand and has a network suited for data services based on EVDO technology. When contacted, an official spokesperson of Vodafone confirmed the agreement. “The partnership leverages core strength of both business groups i.e. the EVDO network of MTS and the branding and distribution experience of Vodafone,” the spokesperson said.

However, Netcruise tariffs are higher than the data plans under MTS's own brand mBlaze. “Vodafone is merely distributing an MTS product, which is differentiated by the brand and distribution strengths that Vodafone provides. MTS have chosen to differentiate the tariffs on this basis,” Vodafone said.

Vodafone, which until now has been offering GSM-based services in India, added that the CDMA dongles would help it to address a wider customer base.

“The Netcruise product is positioned quite differently in the market from Vodafone's 3G products and provides more options at varied price points to the customer. This helps meet all customer segments and needs,” the spokesperson said.

Market analysts said that with spectrum being scarce, this type of deal will be on the rise in the telecom space. Earlier, Tata Teleservices and Virgin Mobile had inked a similar deal.

MTS Android 2.3 tablet - coming soon

MTS Android 2.3 tablet

By Sandeep Budki, The Mobile Indian, New Delhi, September 01, 2011

Mobile operator MTS will soon launch an Android 2.3 tablet. In the past five months it has released high end and sub-Rs 5,000 Android handsets bundled with its network services.

MTS, a mobile operator that is part of Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL), will launch an Android 2.3 based tablet for Indian consumers in the next three months.
Vsevolod Rozanov, president and chief executive officer of MTS India said to The Mobile Indian, "We will be launching an Android 2.3 based tablet by year end for the Indian market."
He didn't elaborate on the tablet's specifications or its manufacturer but said, "We will have tablets for both premium and price sensitive customers."
While there are many GSM tablets in the market there are not many that run on CDMA.
It may be recalled that around five months ago MTS started focusing on offering its subscribers high end smartphones bundled with its network. It started with HTC Pulse, a CDMA Android smartphone bundled with free calls, data and SMSes in India.
The smartphone, worth Rs 18,000, is available almost free for its existing as well as new customers, who just need to sign up for a monthly rental of Rs 1,500 with a commitment of 12 months to get the device.
Users get 1,500 minutes of talk time along with 1,500 free SMSes and free data usage of 1,500 MB every month for twelve months.
Apart from that MTS, a couple of days ago, unveiled two Android smartphones - MTS MTAG 3.1 manufactured by Huawei and MTS Livewire manufactured by ZTE, both in the sub-Rs 5,000 category.
Both phones incorporate Snapdragon S1 processors. Running on CDMA EV-DO Rev A technology, MTS MTAG 3.1 and MTS Livewire support high quality voice and net enabled data services. These phones will be available in the market from the third week of September.
During the unveiling of these devices, Rozanov said, "I am immensely pleased to announce the launch of MTS MTAG 3.1 and MTS Livewire smartphones, incorporating Qualcomm's Snapdragon S1 processors. This initiative has been designed to take the power of Android to the masses. Launched in the sub-Rs 5,000 category, these are the most affordable Android smartphones in India."
MTS is also gearing up to attract high end mobile and tablet users on its CDMA network, which is a better choice for data users.
Let's have a look at the possible CDMA devices in India that might come bundled with an MTS connection:

MTS launches cheapest Android smartphones

MTS launches cheapest Android smartphones

Karishma Saurabh Kalita, NDTV, August 30, 2011,

MTS has launched two Android Smartphones for just Rs.5000 for its subscribers in India. The MTS mTag 3.1 and MTS Livewire will feature Android 2.2 Froyo with Qualcomms S1 Snapdragon processors.

The MTS mTag 3.1 will feature a 2.8 inch capacitive touchscreen along with a 3.2 Megapixel camera. Both the smartphones  have direct access to Google, YouTube, Google Maps and Google Talk. Both the devices have an additional feature of Voice Search which will enable the user to find anything without having to type.

The MTS mTag 3.1 and MTS Livewire comes bundled with services like free talktime, free SMS's and free data usages. It also gives access to the Android Market which will give the users more than 200,000 applications. Both these handsets get access to Live TV and on-demand video playback services as well.