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Vimpelcom to focus on cash flow as revenue fall continues
2015-08-06 10:07:00| Telecompaper Headlines
(Telecompaper) Vimpelcom reported a sharp fall in second-quarter results due to negative currency effects, while announcing a new plan to focus on cash flow going forward. The company said it was still on track to meet its 2015 targets, after a 2 percent organic fall in Q2 revenues and 3 percent organic drop in EBITDA for the period. On a reported basis, revenues were down 26 percent year-on-year to USD 3.76 billion, hurt by the stronger dollar, and EBITDA fell 17 percent to USD 1.51 billion. The EBITDA margin dropped to 40.2 percent from 41.0 a year ago. Net profit was still up 8 percent to USD 108 million. Vimpelcom reduced capital expenditure 34 percent to USD 674 million in the quarter, while operating cash flow was still down 21 percent to USD 836 million. Over the full year, the company narrowed its capex range to 18-20 percent of revenue, rather than the earlier target of 20 percent, as part of its new focus on cash flow. The outlook was otherwise maintained, at flat to slightly lower revenues on an organic basis and flat to 1 point lower EBITDA margin. The net debt ratio was also improved to a target of 3.1x EBITDA from earlier guidance of 3.2, compared to a result of 2.6 at the end of June. The new CEO Jean-Yves Charlier presented a new six-point strategy for the group going forward, with more details to be unveiled at an analyst meeting in October. The main target is to generate an additional USD 750 million in annual free cash flow within the next three years.
Tags: fall
focus
cash
flow
Category:Telecommunications