(Telecompaper) Vimpelcom's net profit for the third quarter halved to USD 255 million from USD 538 million a year earlier, as the company suffered from competitive and regulatory pressures in key markets such as Russia, Italy and Ukraine. Revenues fell 1 percent to USD 5.685 billion, and EBITDA was down 2 percent to USD 2.474 billion. The EBITDA margin fell by half a percent point to 43.5 percent. Vimpelcom blamed the lower results on a number of government and regulatory effects, such as termination rate cuts in Italy and forced network shutdowns in Pakistan, as well as increased commercial costs in Ukraine and other markets. There was a 25 percent increase in capex to USD 1.040 billion in Q3, in part due to acquiring a 3G licence in Bangladesh. Operating cash flow fell 16 percent to USD 1.675 billion. Vimpelcom still grew its mobile customer base 5 percent year-on-year to 219 million at the end of September, mainly due to growth in Africa and Asia. CEO Jo Lunder said the group will continue to invest to support growth in mobile data services, particularly in Russia, while also taking measures to improve operations such as Ukraine.