Page 27 - bne_Tech_06_2018

Telecom
June 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 27
Vodafone Romania reports its turnover rose by 30% y/y in 2017
Romania’s second-largest telecom player Vodafone Romania reported a surprise surge of 30% turno- ver in 2017 to RON4.55bn (€995mn), according to public data consulted by Ziarul Financiar daily.
The company still lags significantly below Orange Romania, which hit RON5.36bn revenues in 2017 (+9.1% y/y).
Vodafone’s 30% increase in revenues last year came as a surprise as the UK subsidiary had reported, as
part of its group consolidated financial results, only a 3% y/y advance of its turnover to €722mn gener- ated by telecom services for 2017 in Romania.
The strong upward trend of business resulting from data reported to the local tax administration must thus have another explanation such as the sale of smart phones, tablets and other equip- ment and accessories. But there has never been such a big difference between the two indicators in the past, the daily commented.
Cypriot court to unfreeze assets of Ukraine's SCM in Ukrtelecom dispute
The district court of Nicosia has ruled in favour
of SCM, Ukraine’s leading financial and industrial group controlled by oligarch Rinat Akhmetov,
in its dispute with Raga Establishment over the status country’s biggest fixed-line telecoms group Ukrtelecom, SCM said in a statement e-mailed to bne IntelliNews on June 6.
As a result of the win, SCM’s assets have been unfrozen, the statement reads. Earlier, a court in Cyprus frozen $820mn in assets belonging to Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest oligarch, in a long-running legal dispute over Ukrtelecom.
Raga Establishment, which is owned by Denis Gorbunenko, a former Ukrainian banker, has been pursuing Akhmetov and others seeking full payment for the sale of Ukrtelecom. Raga said
it sold Ukrtelecom to Akhmetov for $860mn in 2013, with the oligarch paying $100mn upfront but nothing since.
SCM’s Director of International & Investor Relations Jock Mendoza-Wilson said in the statement that SCM is "delighted" by the court's ruling. "All restric- tions imposed by that freezing order in dealing with their respective assets have been removed. The court also issued an order awarding the legal costs in favour of the SCM and against Raga," he added.
Mendoza-Wilson added that the court stated in its judgement that the December Cypriot freezing order was obtained by Raga "inappropriately and unjustifiably".
"This is illustrative of Raga’s behaviour in this dispute and a reflection of the true nature of its claim filed against SCM and Akhmetov in Cyprus. We maintain that such claim is baseless, just
as the now discharged freezing order had been baseless," the statement reads. "We will continue to defend vigorously against Raga Establishment claims in Cyprus and other jurisdictions."