In January-September 2024, Ukraine’s second largest mobile operator, Vodafone Ukraine (VFU), increased its revenue by 13% to UAH 18.05 billion, while reducing its net profit by 23% to UAH 2.92 billion.
According to the company’s official website, OIBDA increased by 6% to UAH 9.55 billion in the first nine months of operation. The OIBDA margin decreased by 4 percentage points to 52.9%.
The company’s investments also decreased by 10% to UAH 3.41 billion compared to the same period last year.
APRU (average monthly revenue from fixed-line voice services per subscriber) increased by 8.9% to UAH 122.4. The operator’s subscriber base increased by 4.7% to 15.9 million customers.
In the first nine months of 2024, Vodafone Ukraine demonstrated business stability and positive growth in key operating and financial indicators, the company said on its official website.
VF Ukraine attributed the 23% decline in net profit to currency fluctuations.
At the same time, the increase in APRU by 8.9% is due to an increase in the use of mobile services, as well as an increase in the number of fixed-line Internet customers to 270 thousand, which is 16% more than in the third quarter of 2023, the company explained.
“Vodafone Ukraine continues to reinvest its profits in telecommunications infrastructure. The company maintains a high investment rate: UAH 3.4 billion was invested in infrastructure in the first nine months of 2024. Since the start of the full-scale war, Vodafone Ukraine has invested a total of UAH 12.66 billion in Ukraine. The priority areas remain the restoration and maintenance, energy resilience of mobile communications facilities and expansion of network capacity,” the company said.
“Vodafone Ukraine is investing in the development of fixed-line Internet access networks based on modern GPON technology. More than 8,000 apartment buildings in 16 cities of Ukraine are already connected to the energy-efficient network. Over the past three years, Vodafone Ukraine has invested UAH 670 million to expand its fixed network by increasing GPON coverage tenfold. The operator is actively building new service areas in Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Ivano-Frankivsk. In August this year, the company started building energy-efficient networks in Poltava, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Lutsk, Rivne and Ternopil.
Vodafone Ukraine reminded that for the second consecutive year, Vodafone mobile Internet has been recognized as the fastest in Ukraine according to the results of Speedtest user tests, and the operator received the prestigious Ookla Speedtest Awards.
The company also continues to develop services based on its IoT network. In August, VF Ukraine and Kyivteplocomunenergo signed an agreement to install NB-IoT-enabled meters in Kyiv. NB-IoT technology ensures reliable connectivity even in difficult places such as basements or underground parking lots. Designed specifically for the Internet of Things, this network supports a large number of simultaneous device connections, making it ideal for large-scale urban or large industrial deployments.
In August 2024, Vodafone Ukraine launched new tariff plans as part of the Roaming at Home concept. Ukrainians can use their home tariff in 28 European countries at no additional cost and without activating services.
“This option is especially valuable for volunteers and military personnel traveling abroad for training and remains popular for both tourist and business trips to Europe,” Vodafone Ukraine said.
It is reported that the company managed to increase its subscriber base by 4.7% compared to the third quarter of last year, to 15.9 million customers, as of September 30, 2024, in both the private and corporate segments.
In September, Vodafone Ukraine started offering numbers with a new code – 075. The additional range of numbers has expanded the choice of desired combinations for new and existing customers.
Vodafone is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies providing a wide range of services, including mobile voice, data, messaging, fixed broadband and cable TV. The company operates in 15 countries and cooperates with mobile networks in 45 countries. As of June 20, 2024, Vodafone provides services to more than 330 million mobile subscribers, 21 million fixed-line subscribers, 17 million TV subscribers, 17 million broadband subscribers, 17 million TV subscribers and connects more than 187 million IoT devices.
“Vodafone Ukraine is a leading Ukrainian telecommunications company providing 3G and 4G broadband, fixed-line and Internet services. The company serves 15.9 million subscribers. Since December 2019, Vodafone Ukraine has been a part of NEQSOL Holding, a diversified group of companies operating in the energy, telecommunications, high-tech and construction sectors.
British mobile operator Vodafone Group Plc increased its revenue by 2.8% in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 and confirmed its financial performance forecast for the entire fiscal year.
According to a Vodafone press release, revenue for the quarter ended June 30 reached €9.04 billion, up from €8.79 billion a year earlier.
Service revenue, the company’s key indicator, increased by 3.2% to €7.47 billion. In organic terms, the figure increased by 5.4%.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization and leasing (EBITDAaL) increased by 2.1% to EUR 2.68 billion. At the same time, the organic growth of this indicator amounted to 5.1%, the report says.
Operating profit jumped 42.9% to €1.55 billion.
In fiscal year 2025, Vodafone still plans to generate adjusted EBITDAaL of about 11 billion euros. Adjusted free cash flow is expected to be at least €2.4 billion.
Vodafone shares are losing 1.8% in London on Thursday. Since the beginning of the year, the company’s capitalization has increased by 1%, while the FTSE 100 index has added 4.6% over the same period.
Following the attacks on the energy infrastructure in March and April, Vodafone has decided to double its planned investments in energy independence this year. Following this decision, the company plans to purchase additional generating capacity and autonomous power supply systems worth UAH 438 million. Total investments in the network’s energy resilience in 2022-2024 will exceed UAH 674 million.
Vodafone is investing in new types of batteries for its communication facilities. To improve reliability and extend the autonomous power supply time of its base stations, the company has already purchased 13.5 thousand batteries of a new lithium-ferrous type (LiFePO4). Such batteries are much better adapted to harsh operating conditions with frequent and prolonged power outages. Vodafone plans to purchase an additional 4,612 such batteries in 2024.
In addition, Vodafone will increase its generating capacity. More than 1.5 thousand base stations are already powered by generator sets, including the company’s own stationary and mobile generators, as well as generator sets of partners and customers. During the war alone, the company purchased about 500 mobile generators and the auxiliary equipment necessary for their operation. In 2024, the number of generating equipment of various types will increase by another 280 units.
Today, more than 700 partner generators ensure the network’s operation during outages, and this number is constantly growing. Vodafone is open for further cooperation – companies that have a diesel generator set and are ready to share its capacity to provide communication for their company and other subscribers within the base station coverage area can send a letter to no_blackout@vodafone.ua. Vodafone experts will be happy to discuss the details of possible cooperation.
During previous emergency outages, the company has already used more than 1,094 tons of diesel and gasoline. Vodafone’s power engineers have also ensured sufficient diesel and gasoline reserves to generate electricity to keep the grid running during the blackouts. To minimize the risks of a shortage of certain types of fuel and diversify fuel supplies, including on a regional basis, the company has increased the number of wholesale fuel suppliers with whom it has signed contracts and made significant fuel reserves.
In 2022, Vodafone Ukraine reduced its net income by 2% to UAH 19.8 billion, having received a net profit of UAH 1.1 billion, the press service of the mobile operator reported on Friday.
According to a press release, OIBDA (Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization) of Vodafone Ukraine in 2022 grew by 3% and amounted to UAH 11.3 billion, OIBDA margin rose by 2.5 p.p. to 56.9%.
“The company’s revenue in 2022 was UAH 19.8 billion. A decrease of 2% compared to the previous year is due to a decrease in the number of mobile network users. Vodafone’s net profit in 2022 was UAH 1.1 billion. The decrease in the indicator… is due to losses from exchange rate differences received as a result of the growth of the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the hryvnia by 34%,” the company said.
Most Vodafone Ukraine mobile users lived in the east and south of Ukraine. In connection with the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation and the hostilities that disabled a number of mobile communication networks in the temporarily occupied territories and directly in the war zone, Vodafone lost the most subscribers of all Ukrainian operators – 3.5 million users, the company said in the report.
As of the end of 2022, Vodafone had 15.4 million customers.
Currently over 2.2 million users remain abroad and continue using Vodafone services.
“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Vodafone has been supporting Ukrainians who seek protection in European countries and provides the free connection to the Affordable Roaming service in most tariffs. The service provides 10GB of mobile Internet and 100 minutes for calls with subscribers in Ukraine and the country of residence, subject to paid Ukrainian package,” the company said, specifying that the Affordable Roaming offer is used by 87% of all customers staying in the roaming zone.
Data services are used by 71% of all Vodafone customers, while the mobile Internet usage has grown by 1.5 times, the company said.
Despite the impact of the war on the company’s revenues in 2022, Vodafone Ukraine maintained business stability, not reducing but increasing the volume of investments in developing and supporting the country’s telecom infrastructure. At the same time, it was possible to enhance business efficiency and the penetration of digital services, the company said in the press release.
Vodafone increased capital investments to UAH 3.6 billion in 2022.
“Thanks to this, Vodafone engineers restored the destroyed infrastructure, quickly repaired equipment, developed the network, and ensured the availability of communications in blackout conditions. During the year, the company’s engineers returned to the air about 800 villages and cities, carrying out about 2,960 repair trips, including in close proximity to the front line,” the company said.
Vodafone did not stop the development of the network. In 2022, the company’s specialists paid special attention to expanding capacity and coverage in regions of mass migration. In general, since the beginning of the war, 4,000 4G base stations have been launched.
Significant resources of the company were sent to ensure the availability of communications in the conditions of power outages due to targeted attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure facilities. Vodafone purchased 414 mobile generators, and the company’s engineers replaced 24,712 batteries. To ensure the operation of alternative power sources, 519 tonnes of diesel fuel were used.
The company said that today 88% of the network is operating well.
Ukraine’s largest mobile operator “Kyivstar” in a year of war paid 10.7 billion UAH of taxes and invested in technological development of 3.5 billion UAH, the president of the company, Alexander Komarov said on Facebook.
The second largest operator “Vodafone Ukraine” reported paying 4.97 billion UAH of taxes and fees in 2022 and almost 4 billion UAH of investments in support and development of telecom infrastructure in Ukraine.
“92% of the network is working as usual today. This is an incredible result, given that 8% are in the occupied territories. At the same time we returned connection to 815 settlements, where we built more than 600 base stations (BS). More 700 new base stations of 4G standard were built, which increased the 4G coverage by 20%”, – wrote Komarov.
He added that the generating capacity of Kyivstar reached 39.2 MW thanks to increase of the number of diesel generators by 75% and installation of 18 thousand new batteries.
“As of today 88% of the network in the country is working in normal mode” – stated “Vodafone Ukraine”.
According to the company, 581 base stations were resumed and 2.9 thousand km of fiber-optic cable were repaired, thanks to which it was possible to restore the availability of services to people in 759 settlements of the country.
“Vodafone Ukraine” also reported that 723 base stations were launched in new locations, 414 additional mobile generators were purchased and 24.71 thousand batteries were replaced.
Vodafone Ukraine, which is part of NEQSOL Holding, announces the completion of regular interest payments on Eurobonds.
On February 11, 2020, the Company successfully priced its debut international capital markets issuance – 5-year bonds (“Eurobonds”) amounting to $500 million with a yield of 6.20%. Vodafone marked the lowest price in the entire history of Eurobonds issuance by a corporate issuer from Ukraine.
In accordance with the placement conditions, the coupon, namely the interest on the placed bonds, shall be paid every 6 months.
“Despite the difficult conditions caused by the war and the subsequent economic downturn, we continue to fulfill our commitments. This demonstrates the stability of our business and loan funds management efficiency, – commented on the payments Olga Ustynova, Vodafone Ukraine CEO. – The Company remains committed to maintaining a robust liquidity position as well as a sustainable debt leverage profile.”
As of today, the amount of the bond balance is $400 million. The Company has already redeemed and made a premature payment of $100 million.
Vodafone Ukraine has been successfully operating on the international debt capital market since 2018.
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For additional information, please contact:
Vodafone
Investor Relations
IR@vodafone.ua
About Vodafone
Vodafone is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including mobile voice, data, messaging, fixed broadband and cable television. The operator has mobile operations in 21 countries, partners with mobile networks in 52 countries. As of 31 December 2021, Vodafone had over 300 million mobile customers, 28 million fixed broadband customers. The Company connects over 142 mil IoT devices and platforms. For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com.
Vodafone Ukraine is a leading mobile operator in Ukraine that provides high-speed 3G and 4G Internet services. Vodafone’s investments during the active construction of high-speed Internet networks in 2015-1Q2022 exceeded UAH 32.7 bln. The record investments allowed to provide technological leadership and to develop new technological services – Internet of Things (IoT), technologies and solutions for Smart City, big data analytics, Fintech services, cloud services. Vodafone has over 19 million customers in Ukraine. Since December 2019, Vodafone Ukraine has been part of NEQSOL Holding.
About NEQSOL Holding
NEQSOL Holding is a diversified group of companies operating across industries and countries. The main business areas cover oil and gas, telecommunications, hi-tech, and construction industries.
The group of companies operates in the UK, the USA, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the UAE, and other countries.
