Kyivstar increases income by 12.4%, EBITDA by 15.6% in 2020
The net income of Kyivstar over 2020 amounted to UAH 25.158 billion, which is 12.4% more than in 2018.
According to the company, the operator’s income from mobile services grew by 12%, to UAH 23.418 billion, and from fixed-line services by 18.7%, to UAH 1.602 billion.
In addition, EBITDA last year increased by 15.6% and amounted to UAH 16.979 billion, while EBITDA margin increased by 1.9 percentage points to 67.5%.
Capex (excluding licenses and leases) for the year increased by 22.1% and amounted to UAH 4.851 billion.
Kyivstar’s total mobile customer base in the fourth quarter of 2020 decreased by 1.3% compared to the same period in 2019, to 25.9 million, while the number of fixed-line subscribers increased by 10.9%, to 1.1 million.
“Kyivstar’s total mobile customer base showed a y-o-y decline of 1.3%, to 25.9 million users due to the decline of second SIM cards in the market and lower gross additions during lockdown when the strict measures resulted in the partial closure of Kyivstar stores,” the company said.
According to Kyivstar, in the fourth quarter of 2020 the number of mobile Internet users reached 17.1 million, which is 1.3% more than in the fourth quarter of 2019. At the same time, the number of subscribers using 4G Internet increased by 30% over the year. The growth in the 4G users and the associated increase in data usage contributed to an ARPU increase of 16,9%, to UAH 80 y-o-y.
Users in 2020 increased the usage of mobile Internet and voice services. Thus, in the fourth quarter of 2020, the average consumption of data traffic per subscriber was 6.1 GB, which is 43% more than a year earlier.
Usage of voice traffic per subscriber for the specified period amounted to 651 minutes, or 12.7% more than in the same period last year.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, the operator’s income increased by 15.2%, to UAH 6.697 billion. Of these, UAH 6.229 billion accounted for income from mobile services (more by 15%), and UAH 430 million for income from fixed-line services (more by 21.3%). EBITDA during this period increased by 10.4%, to UAH 4.452 billion, the margin decreased by 2.8 percentage points, to 66.5%.
Capital investments in the fourth quarter of 2020 amounted to UAH 1.251 billion, which is 25.9% more than in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Over the past year, Kyivstar transferred taxes and other payments to the state budget for a total of UAH 9.3 billion.
In addition, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kyivstar has provided assistance to society and subscribers for UAH 80 million – free communication services, benefits for health workers, the purchase of ventilators for a number of medical institutions, and much more.
Reform of decentralization and judicial reform are important on the path of Ukraine’s European integration, German Ambassador to Ukraine Anka Feldhusen has said.
“This is already my 12th year in Ukraine, and I really want to make a contribution to bring Ukraine closer to the EU and, in my opinion, there are two very important topics. The first is the reform of decentralization. Last year we successfully completed the stage of unification of territorial communities, there were very successful local elections, and now we are still working on what legal status the communities will have, what kind of finance they will receive directly,” Feldhusen said at a virtual meeting, broadcasting on Facebook on Tuesday.
According to her, it is important that communities can now actively work in the interests of their residents.
“But this reform, indeed, is already at its final stage. There is another reform that has hardly started yet. This is judicial reform, and I think this will be my most important priority this year,” Feldhusen said.
The ambassador also said that Germany has already received an invitation to take part in the celebrations of the Independence Day of Ukraine in 2021, adding that high-ranking guests from Germany are expected to visit Ukraine to participate in the first summit of the Crimean Platform on August 23.
In January 2021, Ukrainian mobile operators connected 2,383 settlements to high-speed mobile Internet, of which 4G appeared for the first time in 543 cities and villages, where about 117,400 citizens live, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov said.
“More than 7 million Ukrainians from 11,800 settlements received access to 4G due to the implementation of the LTE 900 project, which started in July 2020. At the same time, more than 2 million Ukrainians in 5,600 cities and villages received access to 4G for the first time,” he wrote on Facebook.
According to Fedorov, the Digital Transformation Ministry is to provide 95% of Ukrainians with Internet access.
Currently, high-speed mobile Internet is available in 22,000 settlements of Ukraine.
Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group Metinvest, in 2020 reduced sales of products in Europe by 21% compared to the previous year, to $ 2.851 billion.
According to the audited consolidated financial results for 2020, sales in Europe fell mainly due lower sales prices for steel products. This was also affected by a decrease in sales of semi-finished products by 31% and iron ore products by 48%. As a result, the region’s share in total revenue decreased by 7 percentage points (p.p.) compared to the previous year, to 27%.
In 2020, revenue in Ukraine decreased by 7%, to $ 2.939 billion, mainly due to a decrease in the average price for metal products and coke, as well as a 26% reduction in pellet sales. The decrease in revenues was partially offset by an increase in the supply of long products by 23%, coke by 14% and iron ore concentrate by 43%. In general, the share of Ukraine in the consolidated revenue decreased by 1 p.p. compared to 2019, to 28%.
Revenue in the Middle East and North Africa region rose 9%, to $ 1.8 billion, mainly driven by an increase in slab (2.5 times) and flat products (12%) shipments. As a result, the region’s share in the consolidated revenue increased by 2 p.p., to 17%.
Revenue in Southeast Asia rose 56%, to $ 1.467 billion thanks to the resumption of sales by Metinvest to China amid strong demand in the country. During the reporting period, the group sold 862,000 tonnes of semi-finished products and finished metal products in the country. In addition, supplies of iron ore products to China increased 1.7 times. As a result, the market share of the region in total revenue increased by 5 p.p., to 14%.
Revenue in the CIS decreased by 23%, to $ 635 million due to a decrease in sales volumes and sales prices for flat products. The region’s share in the consolidated revenue decreased by 2 p.p., to 6%.
Number of unemployed in Ukraine and job opportunities, Jan 2020 – Jan 2021.
National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom plans to increase the annual volume of electricity production to 95 billion kWh in two or three years, while the expected volume of electricity generation this year is 78 billion kWh, acting President of Energoatom Petro Kotin said at the forum Ukraine30 on Wednesday.
“We know how to do this, and we have big plans for the future, and if now we plan to generate 75 billion kWh in accordance with the energy balance, or maybe 78 billion, then our goal is to reach production of 95 billion kWh per year,” he said.
According to the head of the company, the company has planned a repair campaign for the next two to three years so that no more than two or three units will be under repair in winter.
As Deputy Energy Minister Yuriy Boiko said at the forum, during the preparation of the energy balance forecast for the current 2021, during discussions between NPC Ukrenergo, profile specialists of the Energy Ministry and Energoatom, by optimizing the repair site of Energoatom, it was possible to increase the additional generation of nuclear power plants (NPP) in the annual balance by 3 billion kWh.
“I think that this is a good indicator. Moreover, today there are preconditions that this figure will increase,” Boiko said, recalling the launch of Khmelnytsky NPP power unit No. 2 after the scheduled repair a month earlier than the planned date.
At the same time, the deputy minister said, three months of this year will be problematic for Energoatom – from August to October – during which the energy system will not be able to encompass all the electricity produced by Energoatom.
“In order to maximize the production of Energoatom, a number of measures should be taken. First of all, it is necessary to optimize the repair site so that repairs are not carried out in the cold season, but shifted to the summer. The next step is to optimize the repairs, namely those of them, which take place in the cold season,” Boiko said.
According to the Deputy Energy Minister, the construction of electrical installations for the production of hydrogen, the creation of data centers on the basis of NPP sites, the construction of flexible generating capacities, as well as the completion of power units No. 3-4 of Khmelnytsky NPP and No. 5 of Rivne NPP are among the long-term measures that will maximize the production of nuclear power.
