In January-June 2025, the PZU Group generated gross insurance income of PLN 15.2 billion across all markets, including over PLN 1.5 billion in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine, which is 6.5% higher than in the same period last year, according to the PZU website.
Net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company in the first half of this year increased to PLN 3.23 billion (+32.1%), and in the second quarter amounted to PLN 1.47 billion (+23.3% compared to the corresponding period of 2024). Adjusted return on equity (aROE) for the first half of the year was 21.2%, which is 3.8 percentage points (pp) more than last year (in the second quarter it was 18.7%, +2.1 pp).
“We had a successful six months. We expanded our business, generating nearly PLN 1 billion in gross insurance income on an annualized basis for the first half of the year. At the same time, we significantly improved profitability in property and life insurance by several percentage points. All this led to an increase in insurance income of PLN 555 million, or almost 35% compared to the first half of the previous year. It is important to note that more than a third of this growth is due to improved insurance income in the motor third-party liability insurance segment,” commented Tomasz Tarkowski, member of the Management Board and current CEO of PZU.
At the same time, he emphasized that such good results were achieved despite the fact that PZU recorded an almost equally significant negative impact of mass insurance claims related to weather conditions, estimated at approximately PLN 240 million. After the first two quarters of this year, the value of insurance payments and insurance compensation paid by the PZU Group, together with the development of the insurance payment reserve for previous years, amounted to PLN 8.4 billion (+4.3% more than a year ago).
The PZU Group is one of the largest financial institutions in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. The group is headed by Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń SA (PZU), a company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW). The PZU brand’s traditions date back to 1803, when the first insurance company in Poland was founded.
In Ukraine, it is represented by the insurance companies PZU Ukraine and PZU Ukraine Life Insurance.
The number of passengers carried in January-July 2025 amounted to 1 billion 261.8 million, which is 0.4% more than in the same period of 2024, according to the State Statistics Service website.
According to its data, passenger traffic grew more significantly, by 5.3%, to 26.24 billion passenger-kilometers.
The State Statistics Service notes that the dynamics of passenger traffic compared to last year has been improving for the fifth month in a row, while passenger traffic has been improving for the third month in a row.
In terms of modes of transport, urban electric transport remains the main mode in terms of volume – 688.1 million (+0.3% compared to the first seven months of last year) and road transport – 536 million (+0.9%).
The growth in urban electric transport was driven by the metro, which showed an increase of 5.6% to 189.8 million, while the volume of trolleybus transport decreased by 0.1% to 317.7 million, and tram transport by 4.3% to 180.6 million.
Rail transport, including urban electric trains, carried 37.3 million passengers in the first seven months of this year, which is 4.9% less than in the first seven months of last year. At the same time, passenger traffic on rail transport during this period decreased by only 0.1%, while road transport increased by 7.6%.
It should be noted that road transport accounts for 42% of passenger traffic, rail transport for 37%, and urban electric transport for 16.8% due to short travel distances.
The agency also reports 0.4 million air transport passengers, which is 57% more than during the same period last year, and passenger traffic by this mode of transport jumped by 78.4% and exceeded tram passenger traffic.
JYSK Ukraine plans to open 10 new stores and reopen 12 stores in the modern Store Concept 3.0 and Compact formats in the new financial year, which starts on September 1.
According to the company’s press service, five new JYSK stores are planned to open by the end of the calendar year: in the A1 shopping center in Odesa, the OBRIY retail park (Tatariv) and Peretyn (Melechiv in the Lviv region), in the Bukowyna Mall (Chernivtsi) and the Lavky Park shopping center (Mukachevo).
The company emphasized that in terms of network size, JYSK in Ukraine plans to surpass JYSK’s home country of Denmark in the 2026 financial year. Another important event will be the celebration of JYSK’s 1,000th employee in Ukraine. These steps are part of the global Customers’ First Choice strategy, which will be launched this year in all countries where the company operates. Its goal is to make JYSK the first choice for both customers and employees.
“This year will be special for us. We are growing as a team and as a chain, while remaining true to our values of strong teams and dedicated work. It is thanks to our people that we continue to develop, and we believe that JYSK will become the first choice for both customers and employees,” comments Yevgen Ivanitsa, CEO of JYSK in Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, JYSK has supported the Ukrainian network. This time, on the occasion of Independence Day and the new financial year, representatives of top management from Denmark visited Ukraine — JYSK CEO Rami Jensen and Executive Vice President of Retail Micael Nielsen. In particular, they visited the JYSK store in Chernivtsi, which last year became the chain’s 100th store in Ukraine.
“We are impressed by the resilience of our Ukrainian colleagues during the war. I hope that our visit was a sign of our commitment and support for them,” says JYSK President and CEO Rami Jensen.
Today, there are 109 JYSK stores in 37 cities in Ukraine, as well as the online store jysk.ua. The company employs over 800 people in Ukraine.
JYSK is part of the family-owned Lars Larsen Group, which has more than 3,500 stores in 50 countries.
JYSK’s revenue in the 2023/24 financial year was EUR5.6 billion.
The UKRNAFTA chain of gas stations continues to develop multi-channel customer services and increase its performance.
“Currently, the state-owned network is among the top three networks in Ukraine in terms of sales,” said Yuriy Tkachuk, acting chairman of the board of JSC Ukrnafta. “Modernization is ongoing: modern mini-markets are opening, the product range is expanding, and equipment is being updated. I would like to thank the UKRNAFTA team for their steady development, which provides the best modern experience for our customers.”
Non-fuel sales in the first half of 2025 increased by almost 75% compared to the same period in 2024. By product group: hot and cold drinks +100%, hot dogs +50%, UKRNAFTA own brand washer fluid +80%, original AdBlue +35%.
More than 8,300 customers already use UKRNAFTA cards and vouchers. In total, since 2023, when the company’s own B2B program was launched, 170,000 cards have been issued, which can be used at 1,503 gas stations, both our own and those of our partners.
Developed and launched at the end of 2023, the UKRNAFTA app now has 1.5 million active users and is at the top of PlayMarket and AppStore. Every day, 3-4 thousand people install it.
Ukrnafta is Ukraine’s largest oil production company and operates a national network of gas stations. In March 2024, the company took over the management of Glusco’s assets and now operates a total of 545 gas stations — 461 of its own and 84 under management.
The company is implementing a comprehensive program to restore operations and upgrade the format of its network of gas stations. Since February 2023, it has been issuing its own fuel vouchers and NAFTAKarta cards, which are sold to legal entities and individuals through Ukrnafta-Postach LLC.
The largest shareholder of Ukrnafta is Naftogaz of Ukraine with a 50%+1 share.
In November 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer to the state the corporate rights of the company that belonged to private owners, which is now managed by the Ministry of Defense.
The valuation of Kyivstar Group Ltd., which owns Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar, has grown by approximately 20%, or $600-700 million, since the conclusion of the agreement with SPAC company Cohen Circle and the listing on the stock exchange, and the company has the potential to increase it, according to Alexander Komarov, president of Kyivstar Group and Kyivstar.
“I am deeply convinced that this is a significant underestimation of our business. There are two major factors. The first is the valuation of the company in a country at war, and the war will end. The second is that we are now seen more as a telecom operator, while Kyivstar is a digital services operator with a telecom license,” Komarov told reporters on August 29, when Nasdaq held an official trading opening ceremony together with Kyivstar and representatives of the Ukrainian government.
According to him, in the second quarter of 2025, the share of revenue from digital services in Uklon, Helsi, big data, cloud services, and Kyivstar TV already exceeded 10% of the company’s total revenue.
“Any business that we develop in the digital environment grows by at least 50% year-on-year. And some grow by 100+, 200% year-on-year,” said the company’s president.
He specified that Kyivstar’s current capitalization is about $2.8 billion, while the capitalization of its parent company VEON is about $4.2 billion.
As reported, on August 15, Kyivstar Group Ltd., after completing all the necessary procedures with SPAC company Cohen Circle, announced the start of trading on Nasdaq.
“It seems to me that these two weeks, during which Kyivstar has already been part of the international market, have shown that even during the war it is possible to develop, it is possible to create new services, it is possible to create value for all stakeholders, for customers, for shareholders, and thus increase the capitalization of companies,” Komarov emphasized.
He also cited two independent estimates: according to the first, the price per share will reach $14 in 12 months, and according to the second, $19.8, while at the end of the day on Friday, August 29, it was $12.43.
According to him, Kyivstar’s multiplier (revenue/EBITDA) is about 4, which corresponds to the lower level of valuation of Eastern European operators.
“Therefore, I believe that, given the current situation and the deals that have been made in Ukraine over the past few years in the telecom sector, the current situation looks quite optimistic,” Komarov concluded.
He also announced that the company has created a new expanded supervisory board of 10 members headed by VEON CEO Kaan Terzioglu.
Regarding the Kyivstar office in Dubai, which was opened in connection with the company’s IPO, the president specified that it will employ about 10 people who will deal with legal issues, among other things.
When asked by journalists how dividends would be paid to investors, Komarov reminded them that their payment for 2023-2024 is limited by the National Bank of Ukraine to EUR1 million per month, so Kyivstar will decide whether to pay or not after the relevant restrictions are lifted.
Komarov said that the company currently has approximately $400 million in its account, and this money is being used for investment.
“I will use last year’s figure, but I can say that this year’s figure will be significantly higher. We invested (in 2024) approximately 26% of our income, which is more than $200 million.”
According to Nasdaq data, on the first day of trading under the KYIV ticker, the share price fell by 7.4% to $11.52, corresponding to a capitalization of $2.437 billion.
The share of the parent company VEON in Kyivstar after the merger with SPAC decreased from 100% to 89.6%, while the deal provided $178 million in revenue, including investments from institutional partners Helikon and Clearline.
Kyivstar serves nearly 23 million mobile subscribers and over 1.1 million home internet subscribers. Its digital services portfolio includes the Helsi medical platform, the Kyivstar TV movie and television platform, and the leading ride-hailing and delivery company Uklon. Kyivstar is also a provider of solutions for corporate clients, offering cloud technology, cyber security, and artificial intelligence services. Through its Kyivstar.Tech division, the company is developing software development in Ukraine and is a partner for international technology companies such as Starlink.
Kyivstar increased its EBITDA by 32% to $06 million in the first half of 2025, while its revenue grew by 28% to $539 million.
62.2% of Ukrainians believe that there is a severe labor shortage in the country. 25.4% of respondents believe that there is a shortage, but it is not serious. 6.3% do not believe that there is a problem. Another 6.1% were undecided.
These are the results of a sociological study conducted by the research company Active Group on August 16, 2025, using the SunFlower Sociology online panel.
