2008-07-03 09:03:10 -
- "COMSTAR - United TeleSystems" JSC ("Comstar" or "the Company") (LSE:CMST), the leading integrated telecommunications operator in Russia and the CIS, today announced that it has implemented Oracle E-business Suite, the full-scale Enterprise Resource Planning ("ERP") system from Oracle. The total investment in the project amounted to US$ 12 million.
Comstar commenced the introduction of the ERP system in
2005. The project was implemented in several stages, with Kvazar-Micro (now renamed as SITRONICS Information Technologies) acting as a prime contractor. Over 500 Comstar employees have been trained to work in the new system as users.
Comstar implemented the process automation stage which included contract management, procurement payments and other treasury functions, between 2005 and 2006. The second stage of the project commenced in the Autumn of 2006 and involved the automation of financial, tax and accounting management, legacy IT-systems replacement and the introduction of unified accounting and management data to the centralized Oracle E-business Suite system. The management team was thereby equipped with a powerful tool to control and execute the Company's operations, based on the best enterprise business process management practices. The system users operate in an integrated information infrastructure which eliminates duplication and provides an end-to-end control at all levels of accounting and reporting. The current implementation includes the following modules of ERP system: Oracle Purchasing, Oracle Account Payables, Oracle Warehouse Management, Oracle Treasury, Oracle Projects, Oracle Fixed Assets, Oracle General Ledger and Oracle Financial Consolidation Hub.
Alexey Goncharuk, First Vice President of Comstar UTS, commented: "The introduction of the ERP system has enabled us to create an integrated information infrastructure and optimize the business processes within the Company. This is of great benefit to Comstar as one of the leading players in the Russian telecommunications market and a public Company listed on the London Stock Exchange."
Irina Matveeva, Chief Financial Officer of Comstar UTS, added: "The ERP system increases management efficiency and provides greater transparency, both of which should have a positive impact on Comstar's market capitalization." ***
For further information, please visit www.comstar-uts.com
Comstar UTS is the leading fixed-line telecommunications company in Moscow. Comstar provides voice, data, television and other value-added services to residential and corporate subscribers and operators, using its extensive backbone network and exclusive last mile access to 97% of Moscow households. The Company also offers communications services in five Russian regions, Armenia and Ukraine. Comstar had 3.6 million residential subscribers and 750 thousand residential broadband internet subscribers in Moscow, as well as 40 thousand residential regional and international broadband internet subscribers at the end of March 2008. Comstar generated US$ 1,562.4 million and US$ 417.0 million of revenues and a 42.5% and 40.8% OIBDA margin for the twelve months ended December 31, 2007 and the three months ended March 31, 2008, respectively. Comstar's Global Depositary Receipts are listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: CMST).
Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Comstar UTS. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "will," "could," "may" or "might", the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Comstar UTS wishes to caution that these statements are only predictions, and that actual events or results may differ materially. Comstar UTS does not intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in projections or forward-looking statements of Comstar UTS, including, among others, general economic conditions, the competitive environment, risks associated with operating in Russia, rapid technological and market change in the industries Comstar UTS operates in, as well as many other risks specifically related to Comstar UTS and its operations.
Comstar UTS
Masha Eliseeva
Tel: +7 985 997 0852
ir@comstar-uts.ru
or
Shared Value Limited
Matthew Hooper
Tel. +44 (0) 20 7321 5010
comstar@sharedvalue.net 
