Kyivstar Group Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Kyivstar reported FY2025 total revenue of nearly $1.2 billion (UAH 48bn), up ~26% YoY in USD, with EBITDA of $648 million (56% margin) and adjusted net profit of $286 million excluding a one‑time $162 million Nasdaq listing charge; the company generated strong operating cash flow (~$558 million) and ended the year with roughly $456 million in cash despite elevated CapEx (~30% of revenue).
• Digital businesses accelerated sharply—fourth‑quarter digital revenue rose about sixfold and digital accounted for ~16% of total revenue—driven by Uklon (contributing UAH 1.4bn revenue and UAH 386m EBITDA in Q4), Kyivstar TV, Helsi and expanding enterprise digital services.
• For 2026 Kyivstar guided to 8–11% revenue growth and 5–8% EBITDA growth in USD (FX assumption 44.5 UAH/USD), while warning EU “Roam Like at Home” rules will cost about UAH 1 billion of revenue (nearly fully hitting EBITDA) and CapEx intensity should moderate to 23–26% of revenue.

Kyivstar Group NASDAQ: KYIV reported sharply higher revenue and earnings for the fourth quarter and full year ended Dec. 31, 2025, as the company pointed to continued growth in mobile data usage, rising multi-play engagement, and rapid expansion of its digital services portfolio. Management also provided 2026 guidance that factors in currency assumptions, the full-year consolidation of Uklon, and the impact of Ukraine’s entry into the EU “Roam Like at Home” framework.

Full-year 2025 results and cash flow

CEO Oleksandr Komarov said full-year total revenue rose 26% year-over-year in U.S. dollars (30% in hryvnia), while EBITDA increased 26% in dollars (30% in hryvnia). Management said both revenue and EBITDA outperformed the company’s prior full-year outlook from November by roughly four percentage points in dollar terms.

For 2025, Kyivstar reported:

• Total revenue of nearly $1.2 billion (about UAH 48 billion), up 25.8% year-over-year in dollar terms
• Telecom revenue up 15% to just over $1.0 billion
• EBITDA of $648 million, up 25.8%, with a 56% EBITDA margin
• Net profit of $124 million and EPS of $0.57

The company noted that 2025 net profit included a $162 million one-time non-cash charge recognized in the third quarter related to its Nasdaq listing. Excluding that impact, management said adjusted net profit was $286 million and adjusted EPS was $1.32.

Kyivstar reported $558 million in net cash flow from operating activities for the year and equity free cash flow after leases and licenses of $194 million, despite elevated investment spending. CapEx intensity was about 30% in 2025, which management tied to energy resilience, network modernization, and maintaining coverage under wartime conditions.

Fourth-quarter acceleration led by digital

In the fourth quarter, revenue increased 28% year-over-year in dollar terms to $321 million. Telecom revenue grew more than 11% while digital revenue grew more than sixfold, the company said. EBITDA rose 22% to $172 million, and net profit was $90 million, translating to fourth-quarter EPS of $0.37.

Kyivstar ended the quarter with a cash balance of roughly $455 million. CFO Boris Dolgushin described the company’s balance sheet as “exceptionally strong,” citing year-end cash and deposits of $456 million and “insignificant external debt.”

Mobile trends, multi-play growth, and broadband

Management said mobile subscriber trends were stable but soft year-over-year as multi-SIM users dropped secondary SIMs and as demographic pressures persisted. The company reported churn of 13.5% in the period discussed on the call, down about four percentage points year-over-year but higher than the third quarter’s “secular low,” according to management.

Mobile RPU increased 17% year-over-year to $3.80 (UAH 161), which the company attributed to continued migration to 4G plans, about 31% year-over-year growth in data consumption, and higher multi-play penetration. Multi-play customers—defined as users of voice, data, and at least one company app monthly—reached 7.3 million in the fourth quarter, representing 35% of mobile customers. Management said the average multi-play customer spends $5.20 per month, 37% more than the average mobile-only customer.

In fixed broadband, Kyivstar said its customer base grew 4% year-over-year. The share of broadband customers subscribing to Kyivstar TV rose more than three percentage points quarter-over-quarter to 48%, which management linked to marketing efforts and content offerings.

Digital services: Uklon, Kyivstar TV, Helsi, and enterprise

Kyivstar highlighted a sharp step-up in digital performance. For the full year, management said digital revenue increased 4.7 times in dollar terms, with fourth-quarter digital revenue rising sixfold year-over-year. Digital services contributed nearly 16% of total revenue by the end of the year, up four percentage points from the previous quarter, while total digital monthly active users rose about 42% year-over-year to more than 15 million.

Dolgushin said digital revenue climbed nearly six-fold for the full year to $124 million (10.7% of total revenue), reaching $50 million in the fourth quarter (15.7% of total revenue). Management emphasized that even excluding Uklon, digital revenue grew 140%.

Uklon, Kyivstar’s ride-hailing business consolidated beginning in April, contributed more than UAH 1.4 billion in revenue and UAH 386 million in EBITDA in the fourth quarter. The company reported rides booked of 43.6 million, up 9% year-over-year, and deliveries completed of 1.3 million, up 22%. December monthly users reached 3.8 million, a record, according to management. Executives said Uklon is the market leader in Ukraine, ahead of Bolt and Uber, but noted that market share is difficult to quantify because the market is not fully transparent.

Kyivstar TV revenue quadrupled year-over-year in the fourth quarter to UAH 351 million. Management pointed to a shift in TV partnership terms from a revenue share to a platform rent model, subscriber growth to 2.5 million active customers in December (up 25% year-over-year), and expanding original Ukrainian-language content.

Helsi, the company’s health tech platform, ended 2025 with more than 28 million registered patients, access to more than 1,700 healthcare institutions, and over 42,000 medical professionals, management said. Fourth-quarter Helsi revenue grew 40% year-over-year to UAH 95 million, while paid subscriptions exceeded 57,000—nearly quadrupling year-over-year.

Digital Enterprise revenue rose 64% year-over-year to UAH 250 million, driven by demand for cloud, cybersecurity, big data, and connectivity solutions. The company also highlighted Kyivstar.Tech’s work on an LLM initiative with Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, using Google’s Gemma as the foundational architecture.

Strategic updates and 2026 outlook

Management detailed several strategic initiatives and transactions. Kyivstar said it acquired SUNVIN 11 for $8.2 million, a nearly 13 MW solar plant producing energy equivalent to about 4% of the company’s annual electricity consumption. In late February 2026, Kyivstar announced the acquisition of fixed broadband ISP Storm for UAH 420 million, adding more than 50,000 broadband customers across 130 municipalities.

The company also announced the acquisition of Tabletki.ua, an online marketplace for healthcare and wellness products connecting customers with over 14,000 pharmacies. Management said the platform facilitated an average of 14 million monthly bookings in 2025 and about $1.2 billion in gross merchandise value over the 12 months to Sept. 30. Executives said the deal is immediately earnings accretive and was priced at 6.7x EV/EBITDA and 8x P/E based on trailing 12-month management accounts. Kyivstar said it plans to begin pilots or MVPs integrating Helsi and Tabletki during 2026, with a strategy expected to be presented to the supervisory board in the fourth quarter of 2026.

On satellite-to-cell, Kyivstar said it launched Starlink direct-to-cell messaging in November 2025 and has expanded it to all 4G customers, with nearly 5 million having used the service. Management said there is no exclusivity arrangement. The company described the current messaging capability as humanitarian and focused on churn reduction and loyalty, while it evaluates monetization options for live data and OTT voice. Kyivstar said it expects to introduce commercialization plans around the third quarter of 2026 and reported that roughly 20% of satellite-related SMS are sent messages versus 80% received.

For 2026, Kyivstar guided for 8% to 11% revenue growth and 5% to 8% EBITDA growth in dollar terms, assuming an average exchange rate of 44.5 hryvnia to the dollar. In local currency, the company expects 15% to 18% revenue growth and 12% to 15% EBITDA growth. Management said the slower year-over-year growth rate reflects a tougher comparison base, a weaker spot exchange rate, normalization after Uklon’s inclusion, and headwinds from EU roaming regulation.

During Q&A, the company said Ukraine’s entry into the EU roaming framework would have a negative impact of about UAH 1 billion on revenue that would “almost 100%” translate to EBITDA, given Ukraine’s status as a net receiver of traffic from Europe. Kyivstar expects CapEx intensity to moderate to 23% to 26% of revenue in 2026 as elevated 2025 investments normalize, while targeted spending continues for network quality and energy resilience.

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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