Business news from Ukraine

“Ukrtelecom” decreased revenue by 10% last year

Ukrtelecom, Ukraine’s largest fixed-line operator, reported revenue of UAH 5 billion in 2023, down 10% year-on-year, according to its unaudited financial statements.

According to the company’s press release on Monday, its EBITDA last year amounted to more than UAH 1 billion, while its EBITDA margin decreased by 1.3 percentage points (p.p.) to 21.1%.

The report notes that the company’s losses from the consequences of Russian aggression amounted to UAH 2.8 billion and were mainly due to the economic impairment of operating assets and the loss of assets in the temporarily occupied territories in the amount of over UAH 700 million. In particular, the hostilities damaged about 260 of the company’s buildings and destroyed about 50 of them.

Ukrtelecom’s capital investments in 2023 amounted to more than UAH 500 million, while despite the war, the company continued to implement projects to build an optical network and invest in the security of its own infrastructure against cyberattacks, the company said in a statement.

During the reporting period, almost 5.3 thousand kilometers of fiber-optic cable were laid, and by the end of 2023, the company provided more than 2 million households in all regions of the country with the opportunity to use modern optical network services. In general, the company’s optical Internet user base grew by 15% compared to 2022, which ensured an 18% increase in revenues in this segment, the report says.

In 2023, Ukrtelecom invested UAH 20 million to restore 430 km of optical lines and 16 km of copper lines, and restored the functioning of 10 regional communication hubs. Ukrtelecom’s optical infrastructure connected more than 150 medical and 185 educational institutions. In total, more than 1.25 thousand medical and almost 1.7 thousand educational institutions have access to high-speed optical Internet. As of February 24, 2022, 90% of the company’s national coverage was provided with Internet access.

Income from commercial rental of real estate freed up by the network modernization amounted to over UAH 500 million, which is 35% more than in 2022.

It is also noted that in 2023 Ukrtelecom paid more than UAH 1.35 billion in taxes and fees to the budgets of all levels, donating about UAH 210 million in charity to the needs of the defenders. As part of the Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front initiative, the company has donated dozens of UAVs, including Valkyrie and Leleka unmanned aerial systems, hundreds of drones, thousands of special command and control equipment, medical supplies and hundreds of vehicles.

Almost 400 Ukrtelecom employees are serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the press release says.

“Ukrtelecom is the largest fixed-line operator in Ukraine. A large part of its customers are government agencies, educational, administrative and medical institutions, and emergency services. The company is a provider of high-speed fixed-line Internet with the widest coverage. Ukrtelecom’s Internet access is available in almost 4,000 settlements across the country and is available in 90% of them. Ukrtelecom is also the sole shareholder and founder of TriMob LLC, a provider of UMTS/WCDMA mobile services.

In 2013, the company joined SCM’s business.

Ukrtelecom’s revenue in the first nine months of 2023 amounted to UAH 3.14 billion, down 6.1% year-on-year. Net profit amounted to UAH 242.39 million compared to a loss of UAH 755.18 million in 9M2022.

“Ukrtelecom” laid 11 thousand km of optical lines during war

“Ukrtelecom, Ukraine’s largest fixed-line operator, laid almost 11,000 km of optical lines in 2022-2023, the company’s press service said on Friday.

“During the full-scale war, Ukrtelecom built almost 11 thousand kilometers of optical lines. During this time, the company has provided hundreds of thousands more households in all regions of the country with the opportunity to use modern services,” the statement said.

Most fiber-optic lines were laid in Odesa, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Lviv, and Dnipro regions.

The optical infrastructure is being expanded by laying new lines, replacing old copper networks with fiber optics, and restoring the network in the de-occupied territories, the company said.

“Despite the challenging operating environment, Ukrtelecom continues to provide Ukrainians with access to high-speed optical internet. The company, in line with its pre-war strategy, has decided to continue ambitious projects to build optical networks across the country and optical modernization of copper infrastructure,” the company’s press service quoted Ukrtelecom CEO Yuriy Kurmaz as saying.

He emphasized that uninterrupted high-quality Internet is critical as it allows citizens to instantly receive information about the security situation, increases the sustainability of business, and serves as the basis for the sustainability of educational processes and continuous interaction between government agencies.

“In 2024, Ukrtelecom will continue to build a modern optical network by investing in the development of GPON, a non-volatile Internet technology, Kurmaz added.

Ukrtelecom said that in 2023, more than 150 medical and 185 educational institutions connected to the company’s optical infrastructure. The company has access to high-speed optical Internet in 1.25 thousand medical and 1.7 thousand educational institutions.

The settlements where the operator is building fiber-optic networks can access the Internet at speeds of up to 1 Gbps, which in turn allows them to use the full potential of digital services in the public and private sectors, the telecom operator’s press service said.

IP-based services, including interactive TV in HD and 4K quality, video conferencing and Internet telephony, have become available to the public, the company said.

“Ukrtelecom is the largest fixed-line operator in Ukraine. A large part of its customers are government agencies, educational, administrative and medical institutions, and emergency services. The company is a provider of high-speed fixed-line Internet with the widest coverage. Ukrtelecom’s Internet access is available in almost 4,000 settlements across the country and is available in 90% of them. Ukrtelecom is also the sole shareholder and founder of TriMob LLC, a provider of UMTS/WCDMA mobile services.

In 2013, the company joined SCM’s business.

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Ukrtelecom earned UAH 242 mln in net profit

“Ukrtelecom, Ukraine’s largest fixed-line operator, posted a net profit of UAH 242.39 million in January-September 2023, compared to a net loss of UAH 755.18 million in the same period last year, the company said in a report on its website on Monday.

Ukrtelecom’s revenue decreased by 6.1% to UAH 3.14 billion in the first nine months of the year.

Gross profit increased by 26.4% to UAH 791.6 million, and EBITDA amounted to over UAH 1 billion compared to UAH 975 billion in January-September 2022, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 28%.

The company notes that amid the war, Ukrtelecom continues to develop its optical infrastructure, providing Internet access at almost 90% of the number of settlements covered by the operator’s network before the full-scale Russian invasion.

According to a release on Monday, since the beginning of the year, the company has already laid almost 4 thousand kilometers of fiber optic lines, compared to about 5 thousand kilometers in the first nine months of last year. Both new users – business representatives and individuals – are connected to the high-speed optical Internet. It is noted that in the first nine months of this year, 120 medical and 140 educational institutions were also connected to optics.

According to the report, Ukrtelecom paid UAH 1 billion in taxes and duties to the budgets of all levels in January-September 2023 compared to UAH 1.12 billion in January-September 2022, and more than UAH 70 million has already been allocated for the needs of the Ukrainian defenders (UAH 50 million in January-September 2022). Almost 400 Ukrtelecom employees are defending Ukraine in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, compared to about 350 a year ago.

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“Ukrtelecom” gained EBITDA profit of over UAH 700 mln

“Ukrtelecom, Ukraine’s largest fixed-line operator, posted an EBITDA profit of more than UAH 700 million in January-June 2023, while its EBITDA margin rose to 27.8%, the company said on Friday.

“Even in the difficult conditions of operating during a full-scale war, Ukrtelecom demonstrates a stable high level of operational efficiency… Based on its results in the first half of the year, Ukrtelecom generated total revenue of more than UAH 2.5 billion,” the telecom operator said in a press release.

A full quarterly report is not yet available, but for the first half of 2022 Ukrtelecom reported an EBITDA margin of 24.3%, which, given the reported total revenue of UAH 2.9 billion, allows the company to estimate EBITDA for that period at UAH 705 million and talk about maintaining this figure in the first half of 2023, despite a decline in total revenue by about 14%.

In the first half of pre-war 2021, the company generated UAH 3.4 billion in total revenue (up 10%), its EBITDA amounted to UAH 1.1 billion (+29%), and its EBITDA margin was 31.3% (+4.5 percentage points).

The press release notes that Ukrtelecom continues to operate, providing access to Internet services at 88% of the number of settlements covered by the operator’s network prior to the full-scale Russian invasion. At the same time, the number of optical Internet subscribers increased by 10% year-on-year to 320,000.

“In the conditions of martial law, the company continues to meet the demand for optical internet connection, accordingly the subscriber base of users connected via optics is increasing,” it said.

In 2023, Ukrtelecom has already built 2.023 thousand km of fiber-optic lines. 80 medical and 82 educational institutions and almost 20 business objects are connected to high-speed optical Internet. In general, as of the beginning of July, more than 1.7 thousand educational and 1.28 thousand medical institutions, as well as 550 territorial communities have fiber optics from Ukrtelecom.

“Despite the difficult economic conditions, Ukrtelecom continues to effectively dispose of the property that is released due to the modernization of technological infrastructure,” the company stressed.

Revenues for the first half of the year from commercial lease of property amounted to UAH 230 million, the statement said.

According to preliminary data, the direct losses of the company from the buildings destroyed in the occupation troops of the Russian Federation, lost equipment, telecom networks and other assets in the temporarily occupied territories amount to about 700 million UAH, and in general, the total devastating consequences of Russian aggression for “Ukrtelecom” are estimated at 2.8 billion UAH, which is mainly due to the economic depreciation of operating assets.

“During the full-scale war, the company lost a number of real estate in temporarily occupied settlements, quite a few buildings are damaged and destroyed by the enemy,” Ukrtelecom pointed out.

The company also reports on reorganization, within the framework of which, in order to increase the efficiency of telecom business, generation of new opportunities for its development, as well as consolidation of responsibility for telecom revenues, a commercial directorate was created, which united the directions of development of corporate and mass segments and inter-operator telecom business.

“The company is implementing new important projects and decisions regarding business improvement and development… The reorganization will unify and increase the efficiency of business processes, introduce new interesting products, as well as methods of sales organization and customer service,” the release said.

It is also said that Ukrtelecom fulfills its obligations to the state, having paid over UAH 750 mln of taxes to budgets of all levels in January-June 2023.

In addition, the company implemented another project on large-scale assistance to the AFU – more than 20 units of the Defense Forces were provided with almost 2.5 thousand special hardware and software. During the full-scale war, the company sent dozens of UAVs, including Valkyrie and Leleka unmanned aerial systems, to the defenders as part of the Steel Front initiative of businessman Rinat Akhmetov. About 65 million hryvnias of financial aid has already been directed to the needs of the defenders, more than 230 cars from the corporate fleet have been handed over.

More than 370 employees of Ukrtelecom are defending the Ukrainian soil in the ranks of the AFU.

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“Ukrtelecom” launched 700 free Wi-Fi zones in five cities

Ukrtelecom, Ukraine’s largest fixed-line operator, has launched the UKRTELECOM_FREE network in Kiev, Dnipro, Lviv, Odessa and Kharkiv, consisting of 700 free public Wi-Fi zones that will provide Internet access for two to four hours in case of power outage.
“We (Ukrtelecom) launched free Wi-Fi in five cities of Ukraine, so far in test mode. On the streets of Kiev, Dnipro, Lviv, Odessa and Kharkiv now work our free Wi-Fi (about 700 cabinets in total),” wrote Natalia Emchenko, director of communications at System Capital Management in Facebook.
Emchenko published a map, on which you can find addresses of free Wi-Fi zones from “Ukrtelecom”, noting that you can find out the points by a special sticker on the cabinets Free Wi-Fi.
PR-director of “Ukrtelecom” Lena Shramko specified in Facebook, that the speed of free Internet, distributed in zones, is up to 20 Mbit / s and may decrease as the number of users using the service at the same time increases. The radius of use of Wi-Fi – up to 10 meters.
Earlier Ukrtelecom CEO Yuri Kurmaz in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine said that the company will launch a network of free public areas in five cities where the upgraded infrastructure and installed active street cabinets (MSAN – Multi-Service Access Node – a device that connects subscriber lines to the core network).
“Ukrtelecom is the largest fixed-line operator in Ukraine. Most of its customers are state bodies, educational, administrative and medical institutions, emergency services.
Revenue “Ukrtelecom” for the first nine months of 2022 amounted to 3 billion 349.96 million UAH, which is 15.7% less than during the same period in 2021. The net loss was UAH 755.18 mln against net profit of UAH 360.03 mln for 9 months of 2021.

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EBITDA of Ukrtelecom decreased by 39% to UAH 975 million

The EBITDA of Ukrtelecom JSC in January-September 2022 decreased by 39% compared to the same period in 2021, to UAH 975 million, the company’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the press release, due to the loss of control over part of the telecom infrastructure and the termination of the provision of services in the temporarily occupied territories, the company’s total income for nine months decreased by almost 17% compared to the same period last year and amounted to almost UAH 4.2 billion.
“The fall in EBITDA was due to the significant impact of the write-off of assets (losses) in the temporarily occupied territories, the formation of a reserve, as well as receivables arising from an increase in the number of overdue payments from customers. In addition, some of the company’s subscribers left the country. Also significant funds were aimed at helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine and humanitarian aid,” the operator commented on the results for January-September.
At the same time, the company continues to pay taxes on land and real estate, including in the temporarily occupied territories.
Ukrtelecom also noted that until February 24, all the company’s indicators showed steady growth, but the full-scale war unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine changed everything.
“Since the beginning of the full-scale war between Ukraine and the Russian aggressor, Ukrtelecom has been working to restore services 24/7, ensuring their availability at the level of 87% of the settlements covered by the operator’s network. Assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the arrangement of Wi-Fi in school shelters are the main directions of the system the company’s social responsibility program during the war,” the press service of Ukrtelecom emphasizes.
According to the company, one of the strategic directions of Ukrtelecom’s network modernization was, as before, the optimization of the use of technological energy resources. Thus, over the past three years, electricity costs have decreased by 41%: from 155 million kWh in 2018 to 92 million kWh in 2021. At the same time, the company continues to implement a long-term energy efficiency program in wartime, which will contribute to the strength of Ukraine’s energy system, according to a press release.
“In recent months, the terrorist state has massively attacked the energy infrastructure of Ukraine, which causes direct damage to communication systems. The margin of safety of the Ukrtelecom network is currently provided by autonomous power generators, which are equipped with the operator’s most important Internet nodes, as well as sufficient (at least daily norms) fuel supply. The company’s daily investment in the stability of communication services is up to 14 thousand liters of diesel fuel with a critical load on the power grid and emergency shutdowns,” the statement said.
Despite the full-scale war, Ukrtelecom continues to implement projects to connect users to optics – in 2022, about 5 thousand km of fiber optic lines have already been built, and the optical Internet user base has grown by 33% compared to September last year and amounted to more 300 thousand subscribers in the mass and business segments.
About 200 medical and educational institutions were connected to high-speed optical Internet, more than 60 of them in the third quarter. In general, as of the beginning of October, optics from Ukrtelecom are used in more than 1.7 thousand educational and almost 1.3 thousand medical institutions.
In addition, Ukrtelecom completely modernized the telecommunications infrastructure in Dnipro, replacing copper cables with optical ones, and all operator services are now provided exclusively using the NGN (next generation network) multiservice telecom network of the new generation. Subscribers in Dnipro, switched to the FTTx optical architecture, have Internet speeds up to 1 Gbps.
Also, the implementation of a similar large-scale project to transfer subscribers to the modern NGN telecommunications infrastructure in Odessa is nearing completion.
Ukrtelecom emphasizes that it is still efficiently managing the property freed up due to the modernization of the technological infrastructure. Commercial rental income for three quarters of this year exceeded UAH 273 million, while they are almost 15% less than a year ago, which is due, among other things, to the loss of a number of properties in temporarily occupied settlements and destruction as a result of rocket attacks.
The operator notes that during the full-scale war he suffered considerable losses. A preliminary estimate of the cost of destroyed and damaged buildings, lost equipment, telecommunications networks and other assets in the temporarily occupied territories is almost UAH 650 million.
For nine months. In 2022, Ukrtelecom paid UAH 1.12 billion in taxes to the budgets of all levels, allocated about UAH 50 million in financial assistance for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and also transferred more than 170 corporate vehicles to the army.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukrtelecom has acquired and donated almost 3,000 tactical first-aid kits, 4,000 medical tourniquets, 2,000 hemostatic bandages and dressings, hundreds of walkie-talkies, dozens of stretchers, generators and many other necessary things and equipment for the needs of our defenders . In the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, about 350 employees of the company protect Ukraine, according to a press release.
As reported, Ukrtelecom ordered the production of a significant number of Valkyrie unmanned aerial systems (UAC) and has already handed over the first three of them to the Ukrainian military. According to open data, the cost of one such complex is about $18.1 thousand.

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