VEON’s Kyivstar beats estimates as digital push drives strong Q4 growth

Investing.com-- Kyivstar Group Ltd (NASDAQ: KYIV) reported fourth-quarter earnings that topped expectations as the Ukrainian telecom operator continued to expand its digital services and multiplay offerings.

The company posted earnings per share of $0.37, beating the analyst estimate of $0.32. Revenue rose to $321 million in the quarter, up from $299.3 million reported a year earlier.

Kyivstar said fourth-quarter revenue increased 28.4% year-over-year to $321 million, or 30.1% growth in local currency to UAH 13.5 billion, reflecting continued execution of its multiplay and digital strategies.

Mobile ARPU rose 18.2% year-over-year to $3.8, while the share of customers migrating to 4G data plans increased by 5.9 percentage points. Digital revenue grew sharply, rising 6.1 times year-over-year to $50 million and accounting for 15.7% of total revenue. The company said the growth was supported by its digital ecosystem, including ride-hailing platform Uklon, which contributed $34 million in revenue.

Multiplay adoption also continued to expand. Customers using voice, 4G data and at least one digital application rose 18% year-over-year to 7.3 million, representing 35% of one-month active mobile customers.

Kyivstar has also been expanding new technologies. The company recently extended Starlink Direct-to-Cell services to all of its 4G customers, with nearly five million users already having tried initial text capabilities. Voice and light data services are expected to follow later in 2026.

In February, the group also announced the acquisition of Tabletki.ua, Ukraine’s leading online marketplace for medicines and healthcare products.

Chief Executive Officer Oleksandr Komarov said the results highlight the company’s ability to grow while investing in new digital infrastructure.

“Kyivstar's full-year results demonstrate resilience, innovation, and strategic execution at scale," Komarov told Investing.com.

"We are investing in Ukraine now and helping build its digital future through technologies like Direct-to-Cell satellite connectivity and the development of a sovereign Ukrainian LLM."

Looking ahead, Kyivstar expects revenue growth of 8% to 11% in U.S. dollar terms and EBITDA growth of 5% to 8%, assuming an average UAH/USD rate of 44.5. At the midpoint, full-year revenue would reach about $1.27 billion, above the analyst estimate of $1.20 billion.

Parent company VEON Ltd (NASDAQ: VEON) also reported solid results. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 17.4% year-over-year to $1.17 billion, while EBITDA increased 29.1% to $527 million, with margins expanding 410 basis points to 45%.

VEON CEO Kaan Terzioğlu said the group continued to deliver strong performance while scaling digital services.

“Our digital operator model is a unique value-creation opportunity in some of the world’s most exciting markets where we deliver much needed, scalable services," he told Investing.com.

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