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.
Nibulon JV LLC, one of the largest grain market operators in Ukraine, has completed the sowing campaign of winter crops on 16.1 thou hectares, the grain trader’s press service reported on its Facebook page.
According to the report, Nibulon planted 8.6 thou hectares of winter wheat and 7.5 thou hectares of winter rapeseed. These crops are mainly concentrated in Mykolaiv region. According to the development strategy for the agricultural sector in 2024, the area under rapeseed has almost tripled, while winter wheat has decreased by 20% compared to the previous year.
The expansion of rapeseed acreage is due to the high profitability of this crop, which makes it economically attractive even in a changing climate, the agricultural holding explained.
Nibulon noted that in the 2024 season, the agricultural division of the agricultural holding had to take into account unfavorable weather conditions and adjust its work: for the second year in a row, sowing was carried out in dry soil, and the seeds were “preserved” in anticipation of favorable weather.
“In such circumstances, there are risks of provocative precipitation that causes seed germination but is insufficient for plant development and can lead to its death. Thus, we lost and had to reseed part of the rapeseed. But despite these circumstances, the vast majority of seedlings survived, developed and are going into winter in a satisfactory and good condition,” said Oleg Veselov, Director of Agricultural Production at the agricultural holding.
According to him, the situation was resolved by the company’s water-saving tillage technologies, which improved the quality and economy of crops even in conditions of drought and limited access to moisture.
Nibulon JV LLC was established in 1991. Prior to the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and crop reception complexes, capacity for simultaneous storage of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
“Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries. In 2021, the grain trader exported the highest ever volume of 5.64 million tons of agricultural products, reaching record volumes of supplies to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons, and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
Nibulon’s losses due to Russia’s full-scale military invasion in 2022 exceeded $416 million.
Currently, the grain trader is operating at 32% of capacity, has created a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines, and was forced to move its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
In January-October this year, Ukraine increased imports of aluminum ore and concentrate (bauxite) in physical terms by 46.8% compared to the same period last year, up to 19,842 thousand tons.
According to the statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), bauxite imports in monetary terms increased by 50.9% to $2.681 million during this period.
The imports came mainly from Turkey (70.31% of supplies in monetary terms), China (26.67%) and Spain (2.91%).
Ukraine did not re-export bauxite in the same period of this year as in January-October 2023.
As reported, in 2022, Ukraine reduced imports of aluminum ore and concentrate (bauxite) in physical terms by 81.5% compared to the previous year – to 945.396 thousand tons. Imports of bauxite in monetary terms decreased by 79.6% to $48.166 million. Imports were mainly from Guinea (58.90% of supplies in monetary terms), Brazil (27.19%) and Ghana (7.48%).
In 2023, Ukraine imported 19,830 thousand tons of bauxite worth $2,360 million.
Bauxite is an aluminum ore used as a raw material to produce alumina, which is used to make aluminum. They are also used as fluxes in ferrous metallurgy.
Mykolaiv Alumina Plant (MAP) imports bauxite to Ukraine.
American Holtec International has invited Energoatom specialists to join the project team that will work on the deployment of the SMR-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at the Palisades NPP site in the United States.
This was announced by Energoatom with reference to Holtec President and CEO Chris Singh on its Telegram channel on Wednesday.
“Participation of Energoatom representatives at the stages of construction, testing and commissioning of SMR at the Palisades NPP site (USA) will allow the company to gain experience for further implementation of this technology in Ukraine,” the NNEGC noted.
According to Energoatom CEO Petro Kotin, the invitation of the company’s specialists to the Holtec project team is another evidence of the high confidence in Ukraine and Energoatom from strategic partners.
“We are pleased to receive this invitation, which demonstrates not only support in this difficult time for the country, but also recognizes the high professionalism and competence of our nuclear scientists,” he emphasized.
Earlier, Holtec received a $1.52 billion loan from the US Department of Energy to restart the Palisades NPP, with two SMR-300 reactors planned to be deployed at the plant.
As reported, Energoatom and Holtec have implemented a project for the construction and commissioning of the Centralized Spent Fuel Storage Facility in Ukraine (CSFSF).
The companies also reached an agreement on the implementation of two large-scale projects in Ukraine: the construction of a plant for the production of SMR components and the construction of a plant for the production of components for the Centralized SFSF, which have been produced in the United States until now.
The international venture fund TA Ventures is interested in investing in Web3 cryptocurrencies, as well as in fintech projects, including neobanks, said the founder of the fund, Victoria Tigipko, in an interview with the Business Breakfast project organized by Forbes in Kyiv.
“Investing in so-called crypto projects, Web3 projects – yes, I am interested in this. We are looking at projects that are related. These are platform solutions, these are projects that can be used globally,” she said, while noting that TA Ventures is already an investor in MoonPay, a fintech company specializing in cryptocurrency payment solutions, and Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange.
“We are interested in such projects on this scale,” Tigipko assured.
According to her, TA Ventures is also interested in fintech projects and has already invested in the neobank project of Dmytro Dubilet, one of the founders of Ukrainian monobank, Nick Bezkrovny, former head of M&A at KPMG, and Oleksandr Vityaz, a provider of cloud operating systems at Corezoid, called Fintech Farm.
“Why neobanks? In our understanding, the world of fintech is moving towards One-Stop-Shop (a “one-stop shop” is a business or service model that offers a full range of products or services to meet different customer needs in one place or on one platform)… That is why we focus on such products,” emphasized Tigipko.
According to her, Fintech Farm operates in Vietnam and Egypt. Launches in India, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are planned in the near future.
The founder of TA Ventures said that she will soon join the board of the global organization Endeavor, founded in 1997 by Linda Rottenberg and Peter Kellner. One of Endeavor’s goals is to transform emerging markets by finding and developing entrepreneurial talent.
“I will soon become an Endeavor board member. As a board member, I am investing in the Ukrainian Endeavor… For me, it is like paying tribute to the development of the Ukrainian startup business ecosystem,” she said.
TA Ventures International Fund was founded by Victoria Tigipko in 2010. It focuses on such technology sectors as mobility, digital healthcare, fintech, industrial technology, enterprise software, real estate technology, logistics, financial services, and IoT. The fund invests in early-stage technology startups focused on sectors such as HealthTech, FinTech, B2B Software and mobility solutions. The average investment amount is from $100 thousand to $500 thousand at the Pre-Seed and Seed stages.
Ms. Tigipko is also the founder of iClub, a private investment club for angel investors that provides its members with the opportunity to invest in promising startups and participate in major technology conferences.
At the first “EU-Ukraine Investment Conference” in Warsaw on Wednesday, the European Union called for mobilizing private investment in areas critical to Ukraine’s recovery, the European Commission (EC) said.
“Under this call, EU businesses, including joint ventures or consortia involving both European and Ukrainian companies, are invited to submit proposals by March 1, 2025. Proposals will be reviewed and linked to the most suitable investment projects financed by the Investment Framework for Ukraine, which is an integral part of the EU’s EUR 50 billion Ukraine Fund,” the EC communiqué says.
“Ukraine’s recovery requires both public funding and partnerships with the private sector. By combining these efforts, we can maximize investment, support the country’s recovery and its gradual integration into the EU single market. Indeed, facilitating private sector participation in Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction will be key to its success,” said Oliver Vargey, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Policy.
The European Commission named the priority areas of the EU’s call: development of sustainable energy solutions, including renewable energy projects and modernization of existing energy infrastructure; investment in processing of critical raw materials – key minerals and resources needed for high-tech industries and renewable energy technologies; revitalization and modernization of the manufacturing and production sector to increase industrial competitiveness; support for construction and reconstruction of Ukraine; and support for the development of the energy sector.
The two-day conference, according to the EC, brought together more than 5,000 participants, including companies, banks and investors from Ukraine, the EU and other countries, to mobilize private investment in the recovery, reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine.
