Russian conglomerate Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL), which provides telecom services under the MTS brand, reported a net loss of ₹437.9 crore for the third quarter ended September 30, against a net loss of ₹760 crore in the same period last year.
A reduction in forex losses helped the company narrow its loss, it said on Tuesday. The company reported a forex loss of ₹60.7 crore in the quarter compared with ₹206.8 crore in the corresponding period in 2013.
However, revenue increased by 20 per cent to ₹342.7 crore during the quarter against ₹284.4 crore a year ago.
“During the quarter, our non-voice revenues grew by 14 per cent thereby contributing 43 per cent of total revenue. The results have once again demonstrated the market acceptance of our world-class 3G plus network,” Dmitry Shukov, Chief Executive Officer, SSTL, said.
To further strengthen the data story in India, it is imperative that the Government comes out with a clear roadmap on spectrum sharing and trading, he said.
“We are hopeful that as this happens, it will give a boost to broadband penetration in the country,” Shukov said, adding that the company is unable to make its future investment plans due to lack of clarity on CDMA spectrum auctions.
SSTL’s data card subscriber base increased by 6.3 per cent to 15 lakh during the quarter and its mobile subscriber base during the period remained flat on a quarter-on-quarter basis and reached 92 lakh, the company added.