Revenues of Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar increased by 4.7% to UAH 26.86 billion in January-September 2024, while in dollars they decreased by 4% to USD 674 million, the parent company VEON reported on Thursday.
For 9 months of 2024, the company reduced EBITDA by 2.6% to UAH 15.13 billion, and EBITDA margin by 4.2 percentage points to 56.4%.
In July-September, the operator’s revenue increased by 17.9% to UAH 10.25 billion, and by 4.8% to USD 250 million in terms of revenue in dollars. In the third quarter, the operator increased its EBITDA by 6.9% to UAH 5.92 billion, while reducing its EBITDA margin by 5.9 percentage points to 57.7%.
“Kyivstar’s revenue and EBITDA in the third quarter demonstrated strong growth, ensuring resilience and continuity despite a number of challenges, including power outages,” VEON said on its website.
Kyivstar’s capital investments in the third quarter increased by 62.5% to UAH 2.62 billion. Overall, since the beginning of the year, capital investments have increased by 57.5% to UAH 5.97 billion. The operator reportedly increased investments in sustainable communications for Ukraine and further development of 4G.
In addition, Kyivstar has deployed 2.3 thousand generators and 124 thousand batteries in Ukraine, which can ensure autonomous operation of base stations without power for four hours. In addition, Kyivstar installed more than 300 4G base stations in July-September as part of its 4G Everywhere program.
The number of Kyivstar 4G users grew by 4.3% to 15.3 million in the third quarter, accounting for 65.4% of the total subscriber base, up 4.8% year-on-year.
At the same time, Kyivstar’s mobile subscriber base decreased by 3.3% year-on-year to 23.3 million in the third quarter. The subscriber base was affected by the number of Ukrainians living outside Ukraine, the company said in a statement.
In the third quarter, the parent company VEON demonstrated a strong revenue growth of 9.8% year-on-year to $1.038 billion. EBITDA reached $438 million, down 1.5% year-on-year. The company’s investments in the third quarter increased by 51.2% to $198 million.
The total amount of cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2024 was $1,019 million (including $143 million related to banking operations in Pakistan and less $211 million in Ukrainian sovereign bonds classified as investments), of which $453 million was kept at the headquarters level.
