According to Reuters, Russian regional telecoms operator Sibirtelecom saw its net income slashed in two in 2004 to RUB685 million (USD25 million), and predicts that earnings will remain at their current level in the coming fiscal year. The operator is believed to have posted preliminary revenues of RUB19.04 billion, a figure it expects to grow to RUB22.4 billion (USD807 million) this year. EBITDA reached RUB3.756 billion and is expected to grow to RUB4.9 billion.
In a separate story, Sibirtelecom subsidiary Yeniseytelecom has purchased 59.7% of shares in JSC Altaisvyaz, which provides wireless services based on GSM and AMPS standards in the territory of Altai region and the Republic of Altai, from US-based MCT Corp. Yeniseytelecom is a leading player in the Krasnoyarsk territory, with around 550,000 GSM subscribers in February 2005. Altaisvyaz offers both DCS-1800 and AMPS-800 services and has around 38,000 customers.