Page 107 - RusRPTSept19

parcel lockers (BoxBot). It aims to have 4,000 such parcel lockers by 2024. The monthly turnover of the platform is RUB 1bn, with nine million monthly customers.
Russia’s state-controlled financial giant Sberbank announced it completed the acquisition of a 46.5% stake in Rambler Group, a major online media and entertainment group. The deal, which was approved by the antimonopoly authorities, has given Sberbank equal stake to investment holding company A&NN, while Era Capital owns the remaining 7%. A&NN is affiliated to Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut. The terms of the deal were not disclosed but, when the parties agreed it in April this year, the Russian mediareported that around 11 billion rubles ($170 million at the current exchange rate) would be injected by Sberbank in Rambler in exchange for acquiring the stake. The funding will be used “to develop Rambler Group’s digital assets and technological platform,” Sberbank stated.
9.2.8 Telecoms corporate news
Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) released its 2Q19 IFRS results. Revenues rose 9.4% y/y to R125bn, including 8.4% growth in Russia to R115bn and 20.7% in Ukraine in hryvnias. Excluding the positive effect from MTS Bank (consolidated starting in 3Q18), revenues rose 4.5% y/y overall and 1.9% in Russia. Adjusted EBITDA increased 4.1% y/y to R56.1bn, and excluding the positive effect from MTS Bank it was up 1% y/y. MTS delivered growth in Russian mobile service revenues of 1.7% y/y to R79.7bn, which compared favorably with VEON's 1.1% decline in 2Q19. Growth in sales of goods in Russia accelerated to 10.6% y/y (from 6.5% in 1Q19), while the gross margin in the segment hit a historical low of 4.1%. In 2Q19, there were 5,881 retail stores, up 18 Q-o-Q and 202 y/y. During the conference call, MTS confirmed plans to close 200- 300 stores by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the Russian division's adjusted EBITDA (net of the positive effect from MTS Bank) dropped 0.8% y/y due to the VAT increase at the beginning of the year and cancellation of domestic roaming.
Russia mobile major Veon (former Vimpelcom, operating in Russia under the Beeline brand) updated its strategy and plans to expand in non- telecom assets, the company said on September 3. "Veon's long-term vision is a communications and digital services provider that empowers customer ambitions by acting as a digital concierge to guide their choices and connect resources that match their needs," the company wrote.
9.2.10 Utilities corporate news
Russian state utility major InterRAO posted sold revenues and earnings in the 2Q19 under IFRS, but net income of the company missed expectations. As followed by bne IntelliNews, large Russian utility names are in focus due to attractive dividends and the launched state spending on capacity modernisation. Revenues were up 12% year-on-year, driven by growth in electricity production, export volumes and solid electricity price dynamics. Ebitda gained 24% year-on-year on efficient cost control. Despite 7% y/y increase net income was 13% below the BCS Global Markets expectations,
107 RUSSIA Country Report September 2019 www.intellinews.com