FORM 6-K

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Report of Foreign Issuer
November 19, 2013

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Commission file number:  333-12032

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Russian Federation

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

4, Marksistskaya Street
Moscow 109147
Russian Federation

(Address of principal executive offices)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F   x   Form 40-F   o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Yes   o   No   x

Press release

Mobile TeleSystems Announces Financial Results for the Third Quarter Ended September 30, 2013

November 19, 2013

Moscow, Russian Federation — Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS” - NYSE: MBT), the leading telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS, today announces its unaudited US GAAP financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2013.

Key Financial Highlights of Q3 2013

·                  Consolidated revenues up 4% y-o-y to RUB 103 billion

·                  Increase in mobile service revenue in Russia of 6% y-o-y to RUB 70 billion

·                  Data revenue growth of 45% y-o-y to RUB 13 billion

·                  Consolidated OIBDA(1) up 5% y-o-y to RUB 46 billion

·                  Group OIBDA margin improved 0.3 pp y-o-y to 44.8%

·                  Consolidated net income(2) of RUB 18 billion

·                  Free cash-flow(3) reached RUB 72 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2013

Key Corporate and Industry Highlights

·                  Completed payment of the dividend for the fiscal year 2012, which amounted to total of RUB 30.2 billion or RUB 14.6 per ordinary MTS share (approximately RUB 29.2 per ADR).

·                  Announced partnership with Nokia Siemens Networks to jointly develop telecommunications infrastructure and build LTE networks in the Moscow region and Russia’s Central Federal District

·                  EGM approved payout of semi-annual dividends of RUB 5.22 per ordinary MTS share (RUB 10.44 per ADR) amounting to the total of RUB 10.8 billion on the basis of the Company’s H1 2013 financial and operating results

·                  Redeemed remaining portion of the RUB 10 billion series 01 bond

·                  Launched LTE networks in the Pskov Region, Tambov Region, Kirov Region, North Ossetia-Alania, Khabarovsk Krai, Amur Krai, Zabaikalsky Krai and Udmurtia

·                  Launched sales of iPhone 5s/5c in the MTS retail network

·                  Appointed Mr. Andrei Smelkov as Vice President for Foreign Subsidiaries, Member of the Executive Board

(1)    See Attachment A for definitions and reconciliation of OIBDA and OIBDA margin to their most directly comparable US GAAP financial measures.

(2)    Attributable to the Group.

(3)    See Attachment B for reconciliation of free cash-flow to net cash provided by operating activity.

Revised Outlook for FY2013

Management reiterates Group revenue growth guidance of at least 5%; key factors may include:

·                  Growth in data revenues through rising penetration of smartphones and modems

·                  Lower sales of handsets due to reduced sales of high-value devices

·                  Absence of any 3G licenses in Ukraine

·                  Macroeconomic developments in core markets

Guidance for OIBDA margin reiterated at >43%, which reflects both expected growth in service revenues as well as anticipated cost pressures:

·                  Improvements in churn and increased customer loyalty

·                  Higher labor costs due to expansion of retail and fixed-line networks

·                  Inflationary pressure in operational expenses

CAPEX guidance for FY2013 remains as percent of revenue of ≈20% driven by:

·                  Launch of roll-out of LTE networks in regions throughout Russia

·                  Continued build-out of our GPON network in Moscow

·                  Sustained improvements in our 3G networks, including the expansion of IP-connected base stations and enablement of HSPA+ connectivity

Commentary

Andrei Dubovskov, President and CEO of MTS, commented, “In the third quarter 2013, we witnessed a continuation of the positive operating trends we have seen over the last quarters. Group revenue for the period reached RUB 103.4 billion, which puts us on pace to reach our guidance of a minimum 5% revenue growth for the year. In Russia revenue grew 4% year-on-year to RUB 91.5 billion. Revenue was boosted by the continued strong performance of our mobile and fixed operations. Mobile service revenues increased by 6% year-on-year to RUB 70.3 billion. Key growth factors include increased data adoption and further monetization of data traffic and messaging revenues.”

Alexey Kornya, MTS Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, said, “During the quarter, Group OIBDA increased by 5% year-on-year up to RUB 46.3 billion for an OIBDA margin of 44.8%. Unlike the second quarter, when one-offs increased our margin by 1.9 percentage points, our OIBDA margin was largely unaffected by any significant one-time gains or losses. Adjusted for this fact, our margin in the third quarter 2013 was a little over 1.1 percentage points higher than in the second quarter, which is a common seasonal difference from Q2 to Q3. Group’s performance during the quarter sets us on track to realize our OIBDA guidance for the year of at least 43%. In Russia, OIBDA grew in line with revenue 4% year-over-year to RUB 41.5 billion. For the quarter, we delivered stable OIBDA margin of 45.4%. Increasing data revenue combined with stable sequential sales of handsets and accessories continue to offset inflationary pressures, such as rising personnel costs, higher rent and network maintenance costs.”

Mr. Kornya added, “Group net income from continuing operations registered at RUB 18.1 billion for margin of 17.5%. Unlike the second quarter, we saw no significant one-off effects from non-operating activities. Overall, year-on-year net income was stable as we realized a USD 100 million non-cash FOREX gain for the period in 2012. Adjusted for this effect, our net profit is stable year-over-year and should be seen as very strong for the period. Free cash flow for the first nine months was RUB 72.2 billion, or an over 51% increase year-over-year. While we expect significant CAPEX spending in the fourth quarter to mitigate these improvements, operating cash flow from continuing operations for the first nine months is also up 17%. This reflects the continuing improvements in cash flow generation we see at MTS.”

This press release provides a summary of some of the key financial and operating indicators for the period ended September 30, 2013. For full disclosure materials, please visit http://www.mtsgsm.com/resources/reports/.

Financial Summary(4)

Russia Highlights

Ukraine Highlights

(4)  Financial results of continuing operations, except Net income. Excluding Uzbekistan subsidiary, which was deconsolidated starting Q2 2013

Armenia Highlights

Turkmenistan Highlights

CAPEX Highlights

* * *

For further information, please contact in Moscow:

Joshua B. Tulgan

Director, Corporate Finance & Investor Relations

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC

Tel: +7 495 223 2025

E-mail: ir@mts.ru

Learn more about MTS. Visit the official blog of the Investor Relations Department at www.mtsgsm.com/blog/ and follow us on Twitter: JoshatMTS

* * *

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS”) is the leading telecommunications group in Russia and the CIS, offering mobile and fixed voice, broadband, pay TV as well as content and entertainment services in one of the world’s fastest growing regions. Including its subsidiaries, the Group services over 100 million mobile subscribers. The Group has been awarded GSM licenses in Russia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Armenia and Belarus, a region that boasts a total population of more than 200 million. Since June 2000, MTS’ Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). Additional information about the MTS Group can be found at www.mtsgsm.com.

* * *

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 MTS, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “will,” “could,” “may” or “might,” and the negative of such terms or other similar expressions.  We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not undertake or intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. We refer you to the documents MTS files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the Company’s most recent Form 20-F. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned “Risk Factors” that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, the severity and duration of current economic and financial conditions, including volatility in interest and exchange rates, commodity and equity prices and the value of financial assets; the impact of Russian, U.S. and other foreign government programs to restore liquidity and stimulate national and global economies, our ability to maintain our current credit rating and the impact on our funding costs and competitive position if we do not do so, strategic actions, including acquisitions and dispositions and our success in integrating acquired businesses, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, our competitive environment, dependence on new service development and tariff structures, rapid technological and market change, acquisition strategy, risks associated with telecommunications infrastructure, governmental regulation of the telecommunications industries and other risks associated with operating in Russia and the CIS, volatility of stock price, financial risk management and future growth subject to risks.

* * *

(5)  Group CAPEX, excluding Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan subsidiary was not deconsolidated from FY2010 financial results.

Attachments to the Third Quarter 2013
Earnings Press Release

Attachment A

Non-GAAP financial measures. This press release includes financial information prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or US GAAP, as well as other financial measures referred to as non-GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information prepared in accordance with US GAAP. Due to the rounding and translation practices, Russian ruble and functional currency margins, as well as other non-GAAP financial measures, may differ.

Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (OIBDA) and OIBDA margin. OIBDA represents operating income before depreciation and amortization. OIBDA margin is defined as OIBDA as a percentage of our net revenues. OIBDA may not be similar to OIBDA measures of other companies, is not a measurement under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information contained in our consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income. We believe that OIBDA provides useful information to investors because it is an indicator of the strength and performance of our ongoing business operations, including our ability to fund discretionary spending such as capital expenditures, acquisitions of mobile operators and other investments and our ability to incur and service debt. While depreciation and amortization are considered operating costs under generally accepted accounting principles, these expenses primarily represent the non-cash current period allocation of costs associated with long-lived assets acquired or constructed in prior periods. Our OIBDA calculation is commonly used as one of the bases for investors, analysts and credit rating agencies to evaluate and compare the periodic and future operating performance and value of companies within the wireless telecommunications industry. OIBDA can be reconciled to our consolidated statements of operations as follows:

OIBDA margin can be reconciled to our operating margin as follows:

***

Attachment B

Net debt represents total debt less cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. Our net debt calculation is commonly used as one of the bases for investors, analysts and credit rating agencies to evaluate and compare our periodic and future liquidity within the wireless telecommunications industry. The non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information prepared in accordance with US GAAP.

Net debt can be reconciled to our consolidated balance sheets as follows:

Last twelve month (LTM) OIBDA can be reconciled to our consolidated statements of operations as follows:

Free cash-flow can be reconciled to our consolidated statements of cash flow as follows:

***

Attachment C

Definitions

Subscriber. We define a “subscriber” as an individual or organization whose account shows chargeable activity within sixty one days in the case of post-paid tariffs, or one hundred and eighty three days in the case of our pre-paid tariffs, or whose account does not have a negative balance for more than this period.

Average monthly service revenue per subscriber (ARPU). We calculate our ARPU by dividing our service revenues for a given period, including interconnect, guest roaming fees and connection fees, by the average number of our subscribers during that period and dividing by the number of months in that period.

Average monthly minutes of usage per subscriber (MOU). MOU is calculated by dividing the total number of minutes of usage during a given period by the average number of our subscribers during the period and dividing by the number of months in that period.

Churn. We define our “churn” as the total number of subscribers who cease to be a subscriber as defined above during the period (whether involuntarily due to non-payment or voluntarily, at such subscriber’s request), expressed as a percentage of the average number of our subscribers during that period.

Subscriber acquisition cost (SAC). We define SAC as total sales and marketing expenses and handset subsidies for a given period. Sales and marketing expenses include advertising expenses and commissions to dealers. SAC per gross additional subscriber is calculated by dividing SAC during a given period by the total number of gross subscribers added by us during the period.

***

MOBILE TELESYSTEMS

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

FOR THE THREE AND NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2013 AND 2012 (UNAUDITED)

(Amounts in millions of RUB except per share amount)

MOBILE TELESYSTEMS

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED  STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION

AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2013 AND DECEMBER 31, 2012 (UNAUDITED)

(Amounts in millions of RUB)