MOSCOW, August 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russian mobile phone operator VimpelCom posted on Thursday a net profit of 22.6 billion rubles ($719.75 mln) calculated to International Financial Reporting Standards for the second quarter of 2009.
The company had a net loss of 8.5 billion rubles ($271 mln) in January-March 2009.
Revenue rose 3.3% to 69 billion rubles ($2.2 bln) in the reporting period.
The company's managing director Boris Nemshich said the improved results were due to a 19% year-on-year increase in the number of subscribers to 63.7 million people. VimpelCom currently provides mobile and broadband internet services to 1.7 million people, compared to 0.6 million last year.
VimpelCom, which operates under the Beeline brand, is the second largest cellphone operator in Russia, and also provides services in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia. In 2008, VimpelCom acquired licenses in Vietnam and Cambodia.
The operator covers a territory with a population of 340 million.
