Vimpelcom’s earnings plunge
Vimpelcom, Russia’s third biggest mobile operator, said yesterday competition and tougher regulations hit sales growth in the third quarter. Regulatory pressures in Africa and Asia as well as reduced fees that its Italian business Wind can charge rivals to use its network contributed to a one per cent fall in third-quarter revenue to $5.7bn. The company, whose biggest shareholder is Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s Altimo group, reported a $255m net profit for the quarter, down 53 per cent from a year ago.