Ukrainian mobile operator lifecell earned UAH 611.5 million in net profit in April-June 2023, while it ended April-June 2022 with a net loss of UAH 27.4 million.
Parent company Turkcell said in a report on its website on Thursday that lifecell’s revenue rose 36.5 percent to UAH 2 billion 903.1 million in the second quarter.
“Lifecell’s revenue grew by 36.5% year-on-year in local currency, mainly due to ARPU growth, which was supported by price adjustments and increased data consumption,” the company pointed out in a press release.
EBITDA increased by 39.3% to UAH 1 billion 715.1 million, while EBITDA margin increased by 1.2 percentage points to 59.1%. Turkcell attributed this improvement mainly to lower interconnection and electricity costs as a percentage of revenue.
At the same time, the company’s capital expenditures for April-June increased 2.2 times to UAH 1 billion 445.6 million.
According to the report, the base of active lifecell subscribers for this period amounted, as in the previous quarter, to 8.6 million against 8.4 million a year earlier, while the total number of customers increased to 11.1 million from 10.8 million in the previous quarter and 10.2 million a year earlier.
Meanwhile, ARPU (average revenue per user per month) among active users rose 36.1% year over year and 7.7% to 112.7 UAH in the quarter.
“The penetration of lifecell smartphones amounted to 84.6% as of the end of Q2. On average, about 96% of stores were operating daily as of the end of June. On average, about 7.3% of the nearly 9,000 sites were temporarily out of service on a daily basis in Q2,” the report also said.
Turkcell added that lifecell’s current cash reserves are “more than sufficient” to support its operations.
Overall in the first half of the year, lifecell’s revenue grew by 26.1% year-on-year to UAH 5 billion 590.6 million, EBITDA by 31.6% to UAH 3 billion 320.1 million and net profit by 6.2 times to UAH 1 billion 127.2 million. The company also increased capital investments by 52% to UAH 2 billion 83.6 million.
lifecell is the third largest mobile operator in Ukraine. Turkcell is the owner of 100% of lifecell’s shares.
Lifecell’s revenue in the second quarter amounted to 75.3% of Turkcell International’s revenue and 7.6% of the consolidated revenue of Turkcell as a whole.
On August 16, Kyivgas JSC announced a tender for motor vehicle hull insurance, according to the ProZorro electronic public procurement system.
According to the information, the expected cost of insurance services is UAH 600 thousand.
No bid security is required.
The deadline for submitting bids is August 24.
The winner of a similar tender a year earlier was Ultra Alliance Insurance Company.
Ukrainian insurance companies’ expenditures on advertising and marketing in January-June 2023 increased by 27.7% compared to the same period of 2022 – up to UAH 64.5 million, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said on its website.
According to the report, insurers’ administrative expenses for the period amounted to UAH 2.656 billion, which is 2.5% more than in the first half of 2022, while their sales expenses increased by 6.3% to UAH 1.032 billion.
In addition, expenses on conclusion and prolongation of insurance contracts increased by 5.3% – up to UAH 5.317 billion, including expenses on agency fees – by 4.4%, up to UAH 4.899 billion.
Expenses on conclusion and prolongation of reinsurance contracts have increased 2,1 times – up to UAH 56,7 mln, including expenses on brokers’ remunerations – 2,2 times, up to UAH 56,1 mln, of which non-resident brokers – decreased by 12,5%, up to UAH 11,2 mln.
Expenses for insurance claims settlement increased by 40.9% to UAH 221.3mn, while expenses for appraisers’ services increased by 75.3% to UAH 77.5mn.
Expenses for assistance payment increased by 12.7% and amounted to UAH 91.7mn. At the same time payment for services of non-resident assistant has decreased almost twice – to UAH 4,2 mln.
Insurers’ expenses for court cases have increased in 3,1 times – up to UAH 33,1 mln.
As reported, insurance companies of Ukraine in January-June 2023 collected net premiums in the amount of UAH 20.895 billion, which is 21.7% more than in the same period of 2022, paid UAH 7.744 billion of net insurance payments (+31%). The level of net payouts increased from 34.4% to 37.1%.
According to the NBU, as of June 30, 2023, the total number of insurance companies in Ukraine amounted to 115, of which 12 specialized in life insurance, while on the same date a year earlier there were 142 (13).
Rice production in Ukraine in 2022 due to a full-scale war decreased 16 times compared to the previous year and amounted to only 3.1 thousand tons, while in the season-2023 this figure may increase by 3.5 times – up to 11 thousand tons, reported the Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business (UCAB).
Its analysts recall that before the war, Odessa and Kherson regions were engaged in rice cultivation due to natural and climatic conditions.
“Due to the Russian attack, part of the territory of Kherson region was occupied, accordingly, Ukraine lost the opportunity to grow rice on these lands as early as last year. It should be noted that the production of this crop was mainly engaged in the left-bank part of the region, which is still under temporary occupation. Therefore, for a year and a half we have no possibility to get rice from this part of Ukraine,” the experts noted, adding that after the Kakhovskaya HPP dam was blown up, the chance of revival of rice farming in this region is extremely low.
According to their information, now only Odessa region is engaged in rice farming, which in 2022 grew about 3.1 thousand tons. Experts explained such small volumes by the uncertainty at the beginning of the war and reorientation to higher priority crops. As forecasted in UCAB, that in 2023 the situation in the region will slightly improve and the own production of rice will reach about 11 thousand tons.
Analysts also emphasized that Ukraine has always imported more rice than it grows, as there are countries where natural and climatic conditions are more favorable for growing this crop. However, the ability to provide itself with the necessary foodstuffs, guaranteeing its own food security, is also important.
Despite the war and the destruction of traditional logistical routes, the volume of rice imports remains at a relatively stable level, assures the UCAB.
According to its data, Ukraine imported 87.6 thousand tons of rice in 2022, which is 5% more than in 2021. The main supplier countries were China, India and Pakistan.
“In 2023, imports are expected at 73 thousand tons – 17% lower than in 2022. The reduction in imports is due to the increase in world rice prices and the low solvency of Ukrainians,” the UCAB summarized.
Due to a month of scheduled repairs of railway infrastructure in Przemyśl (Poland) in September, Ukrzaliznytsia JSC (UZ) will cancel a number of trains in this direction, assigning a new train to Chełm and changing the schedules of several operating trains, the UZ press service reported on Telegram.
“On September 8, Polish Railways will start the planned infrastructure repairs in Przemyśl. This could have meant the cancellation of all flights in this direction, but together with our Polish colleagues, we minimized the impact of the repair work,” UZ said.
For the duration of the repair work, from September 7 to October 6, train services #89/90 Kyiv-Premysl and #73/74 Kharkiv-Premysl departing from Kyiv and Kharkiv will be canceled, the statement said.
At the same time, a new train No. 119/120 Kyiv-Chelm will be launched on September 3, which will become the third daily train to Chełm. The train will depart from Kyiv at 6:28 and arrive in Chełm at 17:27, conveniently connecting with the Polish IC 21100, which departs from Chełm at 18:12 and arrives at Warsaw Skhidna station at 21:02. In the opposite direction, the IC12100 train arrives in Chełm at 8:42 a.m., which will allow for a transfer to a train at 10:23 a.m. arriving in Kyiv at 22:45 p.m., the UZ press service said, noting that passengers of the newly designated train will not be checked at the border at night.
“This flight will be convenient for those who have flights from Warsaw Chopin Airport after 23:00 or early in the morning (Cairo, Ostrava, Munich, Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna),” the UZ press service said.
During the “repair month,” two Intercity+ trains will continue to run on Fridays and Saturdays, departing from Kyiv on September 7-8, 14-15, 21-22. In particular, the existing Intercity+ train No. 705/706 Kyiv-Premysl and the new train No. 707/708 Kyiv-Premysl will depart from Kyiv at 22:17 and arrive in Przemyśl at 6:23, and return from Przemyśl at 11:15, arriving in Kyiv at 20:41.
Trains #53/54 Kyiv-Premysl, #89/90 Kyiv-Premysl, #31/32 Zaporizhzhia-Premysl, #35/36 Odesa-Premysl, #73/74 Kharkiv-Premysl, #715/716 Kyiv-Premysl will be canceled on September 7-8, 14-15, 21-22.
Due to repairs in September, the schedule of trains #54 and #36 will also be changed. Train #54 Przemyśl-Kyiv will depart from Przemyśl at 13:45 (instead of 20:28) and arrive in Kyiv at 5:34 (instead of 9:00). Train No. 36 Przemyśl-Odesa will depart at 13:45 (instead of 20:28) and arrive in Odesa at 8:10 am.
Thus, despite the repairs near Przemysl, the number of seats offered by UZ to Poland in September will even increase by about 100 due to the new flight to Chełm (three pairs of trains on weekends), UZ emphasized, noting that after the repair work is completed in October, if popular, the additional flight to Chełm will be maintained. In this case, the number of tickets to Poland will increase by 10%.
Ukraine’s reconstruction should follow SMART principles and be man-centered, believes Alexander Nasikovsky, co-founder and managing partner of DIM Group.
“SMART principles (the goal should be Specific – specific, Measurable – measurable, Achievable – achievable, Relevant – meaningful, Time bound – timely) imply an integrated approach to the restoration of territories, focusing on engineering communications, infrastructure, social facilities and, of course, housing. Energy independence becomes a fundamental component of this approach,” Nasikovsky emphasized in his comments to Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, DIM specialists have studied the experience of many countries, in particular Sweden, and developed geothermal pump systems for apartment buildings.
“This allows to save up to 40% on heating and reduce energy consumption by 35 kWh per square meter,” Nasikovsky explained, adding that elements of sustainable energy independence of DIM projects were also solar panels on places of common use and street lighting.
The key role in the rehabilitation projects, according to Nasikovskiy, will be played by infrastructure created in accordance with the real needs and desires of residents.
“The life of restored communities should be rich, so we developed the concept of community centers, educational hubs, and places for commercial initiatives that meet the real demands and needs of people,” added the DIM co-founder.
Implementing these ideas, he believes, requires collaboration between the public and private sector, analysis and consideration of behavioral trends and a shared understanding of the needs of today’s community.
“Recovery is a challenge, but we are ready to change lives for the better, taking into account the SMART principles and the efforts of all spheres of public life,” Nasikowski emphasized.
As reported, according to the research of the project “Russia will pay” at the end of June, the amount of damage to housing during the full-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation is $56 billion.
Founded in 2014, DIM GC consists of six companies covering all stages of construction.
To date, the GC has commissioned 12 houses in six residential complexes. Seven residential complexes of “comfort+” and “business class” category are under construction: Novy Avtograf, Metropolis, Park Lake City, Lucky Land and others.
