Vietnam’s second largest mobile operator MobiFone reported a net profit of nearly VND2.10 trillion ($96.2 million) in Q1 and said it added almost three million connections over the past year.

The state-owned operator’s revenue increased 4.6 per cent to VND8.56 trillion, VnEconomy reported.

The company’s general director, Le Nam Tra, said sales are expected to increase to VND9.46 trillion in Q2, with its profit forecast to drop to VND1.78 trillion.

At the end of Q1 Mobifone had 42 million connections, according to GSMA Intelligence. Market leader Viettel, which is run by the military, had 64 million connections. VNPT-run VinaPhone is third with 23 million connections.

Just 16 per cent of Mobifone’s connections are 3G, compared to 26 per cent for Viettel.

MobiFone separated from VNPT, another state-owned operator, last June, and was required to submit an IPO plan by the end of the year. It has been valued at around $3.4 billion by Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corp.

The operator is expected to be privatised within 20 months. A number of international investors, including Telenor, have expressed interest in taking a controlling stake in MobiFone.