Jo Lunder, CEO of Amsterdam-headquartered VimpelCom, which operates in 14 countries, said he expected the “operating environment to remain difficult in 2015” as the operator presented a bruised set of Q4 and full-year financial results hit badly by weakening currency in Russia and the Ukraine.

Organic Q4 revenue was up 3 per cent year-on-year, to $4.4 billion, but on a reported basis – which takes into account currency movements – it slumped by 21 per cent.

Reported Q4 revenue and EBITDA in Russia was down 27 per cent and 34 per cent respectively, and down 45 per cent (revenue) and 51 per cent (EBITDA) in the Ukraine.

The picture, however, looks a bit cheerier in local currency. Total revenue in Q4 was up 5 per cent in Russia, to RUB 73.9 billion ($1.2 billion), although mobile service revenue was flat (RUB 56.3 billion). Sales from mobile data were up 20 per cent, however, to RUB 10.5 billion

EBITDA in Russia was nonetheless down 5 per cent, to just over RUB 27 billion.

In the Ukraine – where VimpelCom recently secured a 3G licence – Lunder maintained that the transformation programme announced for its Kyivstar operation in January 2014 was “making good progress despite the difficult operating environment”.

Total revenue in Q4, however, was down 2 per cent, to UAH 3.1 billion ($110 million). VimpelCom attributed much of the fall to a drop in fixed-line revenue.

In Italy, stiff competition continues to impact sales and squeeze margins. Q4 revenue dropped 9 per cent year-on-year, to €1.12 billion, while EBITDA margin shrank from 40.4 per cent (Q4 2013) to 37.3 per cent.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Lunder said although he wasn’t considering an exit from Italy, he was ready to discuss market consolidation.

At a group level, VimpelCom’s reported EBITDA during Q4 was up 58 per cent, to €1.6 billion, but the increase was mainly due to a one-off charge in Q4 2013.

Full-year organic service revenue was up 4 per cent, to €18.7 billion. VimpelCom expects organic service revenue growth to be flat or low single-digit in 2015.

The operator registered a net loss of €0.7 billion during 2014, which it said was impacted by €1 billion in non-cash impairments.