“Kyivstar”, “Vodafone Ukraine” and lifecell announced financial and operational results for the nine months of 2023.
Income
The mobile communications industry is one of the few branches of the Ukrainian economy that maintains positive revenue dynamics despite the war. All three mobile operators increased revenue during the nine months of 2023 against the same period in 2022. Kyivstar recorded the highest score, as usual. And this time lifecell is leading in growth dynamics.
The total revenue of the “blue” operator for three quarters increased by 12.1% to UAH 25.667 billion. It is interesting that, according to the Veon report (parent company “Kyivstar”, which operates in six markets), Ukraine ranks second after Kazakhstan in terms of revenue dynamics. The income of the “red” player increased by 8% – up to UAH 15.9 billion. The turnover of “yellow” jumped by a record 26% for wartime – up to UAH 8.57 billion.
It is also interesting that the first two operators record an increase in income despite a drop in the number of subscribers. They attribute the positive dynamics of revenue to the increase in the use of mobile Internet services.
Net profit (loss
“Kyivstar” stopped disclosing this indicator in public reporting several years ago. Its competitors showed a sharp jump. “Vodafone Ukraine” “soared” seven times over the year: from a loss of UAH 620 million to a net profit of UAH 3.8 billion. “The growth is due to the reduction of losses from exchange rate differences as a result of the currency policy of the NBU in the conditions of martial law,” the press service of the “red” operator explains.
At lifecell, the net profit increased almost three times: from UAH 564 million to UAH 1.68 billion.
EBITDA/OIBDA
“Kyivstar” and lifecell publish EBITDA, and “Vodafone Ukraine” – OIBDA. It is incorrect to compare these indicators. So we just list them.
Growth of all operators in the “fairway” of revenue dynamics. Kyivstar’s EBITDA increased by 12.5% to UAH 15.547 billion, lifecell by 26.1% to UAH 4.97 billion. OIBDA “Vodafone Ukraine” is also in the “fairway” of revenue dynamics: the indicator increased by 8% to UAH 9.05 billion.
EBITDA/OIBDA margin
“Kyivstar” also “closed” this indicator. The last time the operator published it was in the III quarter of 2022. Then the EBITDA margin decreased by 10 percentage points. – up to 57% At lifecell, the margin increased by 0.1 pp. – up to 58% in nine months of 2023. However, the “yellow” operator complains about the drop in the last quarter – to 55.3%. “The reason for the decrease in the margin was the increase in costs for roaming, interconnection and electricity,” lifecell explains.
And the OIBDA margin of “Vodafone Ukraine” did not change during the year, remaining at the same level – 56.9%.
Subscriber base
In terms of the number of lost mobile subscribers, “Vodafone Ukraine” is again in the leaders: the operator lost 600,000 customers during the year (since the beginning of the full-scale invasion – 3.8 million). Currently, there are 15.2 million left. Such a significant decrease is explained by the fact that before the Great War, the company’s strongest positions were precisely in the east of Ukraine.
“The decline is associated with a decrease in the number of users as a result of active hostilities, the unavailability of mobile communication networks in temporarily occupied territories and in the zone of hostilities and mass migration,” Vodafone Ukraine says. However, they clarify that there is no outflow in the third quarter of 2023: the subscriber base remains stable compared to the previous quarter.
At “Kyivstar” during the Great War, the number of customers increased by 2.2 million, of which in the last year – by 300,000. Now the subscriber base is 24.1 million.
And lifecell, on the contrary, shows growth: during the year, the active three-month subscriber base increased by 900,000 to 9.1 million users and almost “caught up” with the pre-war indicator (the operator ended 2021 with 9.2 million subscribers)
Average income from a subscriber
All operators report positive ARPU dynamics for the nine months of 2023 compared to the same period of 2022.
So, the largest ARPU in “Vodafone Ukraine”: growth by 21% – up to UAH 112.4. The company explains such a significant rise by “an increase in the use of mobile Internet services and the number of data users.”
Kyivstar is in second place by a small margin. The average check increased by 15.8% to UAH 112. Lowest ARPU in lifecell. The indicator rose by 12.9% to UAH 87.7.
Investments
The Big Three significantly increased capex. The main expenses during the war go to the reconstruction of the destroyed, backup power supply during blackouts and the “big construction” of new base stations mainly in the west of the country.
In the first place in terms of the volume and dynamics of investments – Vodafone Ukraine: over the year, the operator increased capex by 86% – up to UAH 3.8 billion. “This made it possible to continue the prompt repairs of damaged equipment and capital restoration of the network damaged by hostilities. And also to develop and expand the network – 4,800 4G base stations were put on the air during the active phase of the war,” the company says.
Another important item of expenses of “Vodafone Ukraine” is the purchase of the Internet provider “Freenet” (TM “O 3 “) for UAH 746 million. The deal was closed in the third quarter of this year. Before the big war, the “red” operator managed to buy another provider – Vega – for $15 million. Both assets are needed by the company to advance in the fixed Internet market.
“Vodafone Ukraine” is building a network based on GPON technology. “For 2022, the company commissioned 1,072 new zones in Kyiv, Vyshnevo, Dnipro, Lviv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and Chornomorsk, which provided access to energy-efficient Internet for 150,000 households. Since the beginning of 2023, 2,273 houses have already been covered with the GPON network, with the possibility of connecting 322,000 apartments and offices,” the operator’s press service reports.
Kyivstar is in second place, again with a slight margin. Its capital expenditures grew by 8.1% to UAH 3.79 billion. “Thanks to this, more than 99% of the communication network in the territory controlled by Ukraine is working as usual. In the III quarter of 2023, the team built another 600 new 4G base stations, modernized almost 1,500 BSs, and also connected another 54 settlements to the 4G network. Currently, 4G communication is available to 94.7% of the population in the territory controlled by Ukraine,” the operator reports.
Closes the lifecell trinity. Although this operator leads in the ratio of income to expenses. The company’s capex increased by 51% to UAH 3.035 billion. the company says that it continues to invest in network restoration: “On average, approximately 6.7% of lifecell technology sites out of approximately 9,500 were temporarily down in Q3 2023.”
Source: https://mind.ua/