Ukraine's Kyivstar core profit rises 26% driven by digital services

By Leo Marchandon

March 13 - Ukraine's lead telecom operator Kyivstar KYIV.O on Friday reported 2025 core profit up around 26%, driven by growth in digital sales which now make up 16% of its total revenue.

Its earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at 648 million USD. Kyivstar said it expected an EBITDA growth of 12% to 15% in 2026.

Digital revenue jumped 467% for the full year to $124 million, boosted largely by the April 2025 acquisition of ride-hailing platform Uklon, which contributed $80 million in revenue. In the fourth quarter alone, digital revenue surged more than sixfold.

"We are transforming Kyivstar from a telco service provider to a digital service provider with a telco license," Chief Executive Alexander Komarov told Reuters in an interview. He added that the company's own internally-developed digital applications grew 120% year-on-year.

Kyivstar said Ukraine's first large language model, currently developed in partnership with Google using the Gemma open-source framework, has a first version expected in Q2 2026. A public naming competition is currently underway through the Diia government app.

The company's total digital monthly active users reached 15 million by year-end, up 41.6% year-on-year, spanning ride-hailing, healthcare, entertainment and its super-app.

Net profit fell to $124 million from $283 million a year earlier, weighed down by a one-time non-cash charge of $162 million related to the company's stock market listing. Adjusted net profit was broadly flat at $286 million.