Jean-Yves Charlier, VimpelCom Ltd. (NASDAQ:VIP) CEO, confirmed in a recent interview that the company is open to the possibility that Telenor ASA, its co-owner, may offer its VimpelCom shares in a public offering in the US market.
In other news, the company has released its latest earnings report on Thursday.
Q2 Financial Highlights
During the second quarter, VimpelCom had a total revenue of $2.16 billion, which is down by 16% from the total revenue of $2.57 billion reported during the same period last year. This is broken down into mobile and fixed service revenue of $2.09 billion, which is down by 17% year-over-year from $2.56 billion, and mobile data revenue of $334 million, which is up by 2% year-over-year from $325 million. The slight surge in mobile data revenue is highly attributed to the strong performances in Pakistan and Ukraine.
Nonetheless, Charlier noted that the results for the first half of the fiscal year (FY) 2016 are consistent with the company’s expectations.
Consequently, VimpelCom remains hopeful in its transformation prospects. Recently, it has sealed a partnership with Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) for the enhancement of its IT systems.
More importantly, VimpelCom is confident that the European Commission (EC) will grant the approval for the merger of mobile carriers Wind and 3 Italia in Italy, which is set to commence next month.
New VimpelCom Major Markets Head
On Thursday, VimpelCom has also named Kjell Morten Johnsen as the new Head of Major Markets.
Johnsen will be part of the company’s Executive Committee. He will oversee the business operations in Italy and Russia, two of the biggest markets of VimpelCom.
Accordingly, his appointment is part of the company’s plans to transform its leadership as it works on its growth strategies. Charlier believes that VimpelCom is on its way to becoming a world-class company with a stronger management team spearheading its prospects.
Johnsen brings about extensive executive experiences from the European, Russian, and Scandinavian markets. Charlier emphasized that his managerial skills in various industries will be beneficial for VimpelCom.
