MTS, the largest mobile operator in Russia, reported third quarter results which Andrei Dubovskov (pictured), its president and CEO, said show “a continuation of the positive operating trends which we have seen over the last quarters”.

However, it has also trimmed its revenue growth forecast slightly, to 5 per cent from 5.7 per cent, noting economic weakness in some of its markets moving forward.

The company reported a net income of RUB18.08 billion ($552.45 million) for the quarter to 30 September, a decrease of 10.4 per cent year-on-year, on revenue of RUB103.39 billion, up four per cent. The company described net income as “stable”, noting that in the same quarter last year it saw a nearly RUB3.4 billion foreign exchange gain which flattered its numbers.

The year-on-year revenue growth was attributed to “sustained growth in consumption of data and voice services”.

MTS ended the period with 105.3 million mobile subscribers, up 2.4 per cent from the prior sequential quarter. Its core Russian operation saw subscriber growth of 2.0 per cent to reach 73.1 million; its next biggest market is Ukraine, which saw 3.8 per cent subscriber growth to reach 22.4 million.

The period saw the company launch LTE networks in the Pskov, Tambov, Kirov, North Ossetia-Alania, Khabarovsk Krai, Amur Krai, Zabaikalsky Krai and Udmurtia markets. It has also inked a deal with NSN to develop telecoms infrastructure and build LTE networks in the Moscow region and Russia’s Central Federal District.

In addition, it launched Apple’s latest iPhone models – iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c – in its retail network. This comes following reports of a cooling towards the Apple device by Russia’s biggest operators, due to the costs associated with offering the flagship smartphone.

MTS said that mobile revenue in Russia increased by 6 per cent to RUB70.28 billion, outpacing growth of its fixed line unit, and contributing to a 3.7 per cent total increase in Russian revenue to RUB91.53 billion.

MTS also has operations in Ukraine, Armenia and Turkmenistan.