Kyivstar Group Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Kyivstar delivered strong Q1 growth, with revenue up nearly 27% year over year to $323 million and EBITDA rising more than 23% to $173 million. Equity free cash flow also increased almost 32% to $87 million, showing continued cash generation despite wartime operations in Ukraine.
• Digital platforms are becoming a bigger driver of the business, as digital revenue more than tripled to $67 million and now makes up about 21% of total revenue. Multiplay customers, Uklon, Kyivstar TV, Helsi and Tabletki.ua all posted strong expansion, helping diversify the company beyond core telecom.
• Management raised full-year 2026 guidance, now expecting revenue growth of 11% to 14% and EBITDA growth of 7% to 10% in U.S. dollar terms. The company also plans to keep investing in network resilience, broadband, and new initiatives like Starlink-based services and further acquisitions.

Kyivstar Group NASDAQ: KYIV reported double-digit first-quarter growth and raised its full-year 2026 outlook, citing resilient telecom demand, expanding digital platforms and continued cash generation despite operating in Ukraine during wartime.

Chief Executive Officer Oleksandr Komarov said Kyivstar “started 2026 with strong execution,” with revenue reaching $323 million, up nearly 27% year-over-year. EBITDA rose more than 23% to $173 million, while equity free cash flow increased almost 32% to $87 million.

Komarov said the company’s telecom core remained resilient while its digital ecosystem continued to scale. Digital revenue more than tripled year-over-year to $67 million, representing almost 21% of total revenue in the quarter. The company said that was up more than 5 percentage points from the prior quarter and more than 13 percentage points from a year earlier.

Telecom Business Shows ARPU and Data Growth

Kyivstar’s telecom revenue grew 8% year-over-year to $256 million. The company served 22 million mobile customers during the quarter, with annualized churn of 16%. Mobile ARPU rose 14.1% year-over-year to $3.80, supported by higher data usage and pricing actions, according to management.

Komarov said customers continued moving to 4G and consuming more data. Monthly data consumption grew 31% to almost 15 gigabytes per user, and nearly 70% of the mobile base is now on 4G. The company’s fixed broadband base grew nearly 12% to about 1.2 million customers, including 52,000 users added through the recent Shtorm acquisition.

During the Q&A session, Rothschild & Co. analyst Max Findlay asked about mobile subscriber losses and ARPU growth. Komarov said the decline in the customer base reflected broader market trends, including fewer customers using multiple SIM cards, lower gross additions after pricing changes and Ukraine’s demographic situation. He said the largest factor was the decline in “double SIM-ers,” particularly after heavy blackouts in December and January.

On ARPU, Komarov pointed to two main drivers: growing data consumption and “disciplined pricing” aimed at addressing inflation and economic growth. He said the company’s objective is to maintain low double-digit growth in the mobile telecom business.

Digital Platforms Drive Revenue Expansion

Kyivstar said its digital platforms now serve more than 28 million non-unique digital customers, a figure larger than its mobile subscriber base. The company also changed its reporting structure during the quarter, integrating identity services into its digital enterprise vertical and reporting customers across service lines on a three-month active basis.

The company’s Multiplay strategy remained a major focus. Multiplay customers, defined as those using voice, data and at least one Kyivstar app, increased 31.6% year-over-year to 8.1 million. They now account for nearly 40% of Kyivstar’s active mobile base. Komarov said the average Multiplay customer generates $5.30 in monthly ARPU, nearly 40% more than the average mobile customer.

Uklon, Kyivstar’s mobility platform, generated nearly $33 million in revenue and more than $12 million in EBITDA in the quarter. The platform processed nearly 44 million rides and 1.5 million deliveries, with deliveries up almost 10% quarter-over-quarter. Active customers exceeded 5 million. Komarov said Uklon’s growth was driven by more riders, more rides per rider and pricing influenced by energy and fuel costs.

Kyivstar TV revenue grew 390% year-over-year to $10.5 million. Komarov said the growth reflected both a prior shift to gross revenue recognition and strong organic momentum from customer expansion and original content. The platform reached more than 3 million customers, and nearly 46% of Kyivstar’s fixed broadband users also subscribe to Kyivstar TV. Komarov said the crime drama “Tykha Nava” became the most-watched title in the platform’s history.

Helsi, the company’s health tech platform, served 4.9 million active digital customers in the first quarter. Patients booked 2.4 million appointments through the platform, while paying customers for premium offerings increased by more than half quarter-over-quarter to more than 87,000. Helsi revenue grew nearly 32% year-over-year to more than $2 million.

Kyivstar consolidated Tabletki.ua, an online healthcare marketplace, in February. In two months of consolidation, Tabletki.ua contributed more than $5 million in revenue and more than $4 million in EBITDA. The platform facilitated 15.3 million average monthly bookings during the first two months of the year and processed $258 million in gross merchandise value.

Margins, Cash Flow and Balance Sheet

Chief Financial Officer Boris Dolgushin said total revenue was UAH 14 billion in the first quarter, up 31%, while EBITDA was UAH 7.5 billion, up 29%. The company disclosed EBITDA by segment for the first time, reporting $144 million in EBITDA from telecom and infrastructure at a 56% margin and $29 million from digital platforms at a nearly 43% margin.

Capital expenditures totaled $67 million, equal to 20.9% of revenue. Dolgushin said a significant portion of capital spending was directed toward network resilience during the war. Komarov later said about 15% of CapEx is allocated to resilience projects and added that Kyivstar is accelerating its 3G sunset, with 2026 expected to be the last year of 3G technology for the company in Ukraine.

Kyivstar generated $161 million in operating cash flow and ended the quarter with $353 million in cash and deposits. Dolgushin said the sequential decline in cash reflected funding for the Tabletki.ua and Shtorm acquisitions. Gross debt excluding leases was $94 million, mostly owed to parent company VEON, while lease liabilities totaled $393 million. Excluding lease liabilities, Kyivstar reported a net cash position of $259 million.

Guidance Raised for 2026

Kyivstar raised its full-year 2026 outlook, citing strong execution and external conditions that were less turbulent than assumed in its base case. In Ukrainian hryvnia, the company now expects revenue to grow 18% to 21% and EBITDA to grow 14% to 17%.

Based on an average exchange rate assumption of 45.5 hryvnia to the U.S. dollar, Kyivstar expects revenue to grow 11% to 14% in U.S. dollars and EBITDA to grow 7% to 10%. Komarov said the updated outlook still implies moderation from first-quarter growth rates due to base effects, including the comparison to the aftermath of the 2023 cyberattack, a weaker spot exchange rate and the anniversary of the Uklon consolidation.

The company expects CapEx intensity of 21% to 24% of revenue for the year, with continued investment in network quality and energy resilience while normalizing from elevated 2025 spending.

Management Discusses Starlink, Cybersecurity and M&A

Kyivstar highlighted its expanded cooperation with SpaceX, including plans to resell Starlink internet services to enterprise customers and public institutions. Komarov said more than 5 million customers have used direct-to-cell satellite messaging since launch, sending and receiving more than 8 million messages. The company currently provides the SMS service free to Kyivstar SIM customers in Ukraine because of wartime connectivity risks. Komarov said Kyivstar expects to launch light data services based on direct-to-cell technology in the second half of the year.

On M&A, Komarov said Kyivstar’s priorities are investments in core infrastructure and fixed broadband providers, acquisitions that accelerate the shift from telecom to digital services, and alternative energy investments to diversify supply and hedge electricity costs.

Asked about cybersecurity, Komarov described the 2023 incident as “one of the biggest” acts of cybersecurity war and terrorism, rather than a conventional hacker attack. He said Kyivstar has invested heavily since then, working with global companies including Microsoft and Cisco, and is using advanced security information and event management systems supported by AI monitoring and threat recognition.

Komarov said Kyivstar remains focused on maintaining telecom leadership, expanding fixed broadband market share and scaling digital platforms through organic growth and acquisitions. “Despite external volatility, our business remains resilient, and our strong cash generation continues to fund our expansion,” he said.

About Kyivstar Group NASDAQ: KYIV

Kyivstar Group NASDAQ: KYIV is a leading Ukrainian telecommunications operator that provides a broad range of consumer and business communications services. The company operates one of Ukraine's largest mobile networks and offers voice, messaging and mobile broadband services over 3G and 4G/LTE technologies. In addition to mobile services, Kyivstar supplies fixed-line broadband and home internet access, serving residential customers with connectivity and related value‑added services.

For enterprise and public sector customers, Kyivstar delivers a portfolio of business solutions that includes fixed and mobile data plans, machine‑to‑machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, and ICT services intended to support digital transformation.

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