Full Year 2025 Kyivstar Group Ltd Earnings Call
Speaker #1: Hello and welcome to Kyivstar's FY25 and 4Q25 results presentation. For those of you who have joined the Zoom webinar, if you would like to ask a question, you can use the raise hand button, which can be found on the black bar at the bottom of your screen at any time to join the queue to ask a question.
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Speaker #1: Call accent, you may begin.
Speaker #2: Thank you. Good morning and good afternoon. Thank you for joining us to discuss Kyivstar Group's or Kyivstar's results for the quarter and year-ending December 31, 2025.
Speaker #2: I am Cole Akisson, Group Director for the Kyivstar Investor Relations Team. Please allow me to introduce our Senior Management in the room today. Mr. Khan Terzioglu, Chairman of the Board.
Speaker #2: Mr. Oleksandr Kamarov, our CEO and President. Mr. Boris Dalgushin, our CFO. And Mr. Anand Ramachandran, Chief Corporate Development Officer for Beyond. Today's presentation will begin with Oleksandr detailing the key highlights and business updates, as well as remarks on the financial results from Boris.
Speaker #2: We will then open the line for your questions. Before we begin, next slide, please. Thank you. Please note that today's presentation may include forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties.
Speaker #2: These statements relate to the company's expected performance, 2026 guidance and outlook, market developments, operational and network investments, and the company's ability to realize its targets and initiatives among other things.
Speaker #2: Actual results may differ materially due to risk detailed in the risk factors section of our final prospectus filed with the SEC on January 30, 2026, as such prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time to time.
Speaker #2: The earnings release and presentation including reconciliations of non-IFRS measures are available on our investor relations website. With that, let me hand over to Oleksandr.
Speaker #3: Thank you, Cole. Good afternoon and good morning. Today we are excited to host our first annual earnings call as a US-listed company. We are proud that the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 not only produced robust financial results, but also clear strategic progress.
Speaker #3: Our connectivity and digital services continue to support one another's growth, producing high multiplay and 4G penetration rising data consumption and revenue growth across every vertical and brand.
Speaker #3: Let me start with the headline numbers. For the full year, total revenue grew 26% year over year in US dollars, or 30% in hryvnias.
Speaker #3: Growth accelerated as we closed the year with fourth quarter revenue up 28% in dollars. Full year, EBITDA grew 26% in dollars and 30% in hryvnias.
Speaker #3: Both revenue and EBITDA outperformed our full year outlook from last November by roughly 4 percentage points in dollar terms. We continue to generate healthy cash flow delivering 558 million dollars in net cash flow from operating activities for the year.
Speaker #3: Secondly, let's discuss our digital services. For the full year, digital revenue increased 4.7 times in dollar terms. Momentum continued to accelerate as we closed the year.
Speaker #3: With fourth quarter digital revenue rising six times year over year. As a result, digital services now contribute nearly 16% of our total revenue, up 4 percentage points from the previous quarter.
Speaker #3: Expanding our digital ecosystem remains central to our strategy. This is reflected in the roughly 42% year-on-year rise in our total digital monthly active users, which have now surpassed 15 million.
Speaker #3: Thirdly, our growing suite of services continues to expand Kyivstar's role in our customers' daily lives. Multiplay customers, those who use voice, data, and at least one of our apps monthly reach 7.3 million in the fourth quarter, or 35% of our mobile customers.
Speaker #3: This cross-sales lift engagement, strengthen customer retention, and drive our RPO higher. By the end of the fourth quarter, mobile RPO increased to $3.80, or 161 hryvnias.
Speaker #3: Demonstrating the clear financial return on our ecosystem strategy. Finally, we continue to make solid progress on delivering on our strategic priorities. Last month, we announced the acquisition of TabletQA, Ukraine's leading online healthcare marketplace.
Speaker #3: TabletQA facilitated about 1.2 billion dollars in gross merchandise value over the last 12 months. The acquisition will be a curative for our earnings, which with immediate effect and we are excited about forthcoming synergies including with health.
Speaker #3: Continued expansion of direct-to-sell reflects our dedication to play a leading role in Ukraine's and our industry stage innovation. We have expanded the initial tax services to all our 4G customers.
Speaker #3: Of whom almost 5 million have already tried it out. We plan to expand the light data and OTT voice over 2026. Let's go to the next slide.
Speaker #3: This slide summarizes our performance for full 2025. Telecom revenue grew 15% to just over $1 billion. Driven in large part by customer's upgrading plans, moving to 4G and increasing data consumption.
Speaker #3: The 4.7 times growth in digital revenue was driven in large part by Uklon's consolidation in the third quarter and the shift in Kyivstar TV's revenue model, but all our digital services.
Speaker #3: And brands contributed material growth. EBITDA rose 26% to 648 million dollars. The EBITDA margin coming in at 56%. Net profit for the year was 124 million dollars, with earnings per share at 57 cents.
Speaker #3: As a reminder, these figures include the 162 million dollar one-time non-cash charge we recognized in the third quarter related to our Nasdaq listing. Excluding this impact, 2025 adjusted net profit was 286 million dollars, adjusted EPS was $1.32.
Speaker #3: Moving on our 30% CAPEX intensity, match to our outlook and reflects ongoing initiatives on energy resilience, network modernization, and securing covenant in Ukraine wartime conditions.
Speaker #3: Despite escalated investments with generated net operating cash flow of 558 million dollars and equity free cash flow after leases and licenses of 194 million dollars.
Speaker #3: So next slide, please. Robust results for the fourth quarter supported the strong 2025 numbers. Revenue grew 28% year on year in dollarized terms to 321 million dollars.
Speaker #3: Telecom revenue rising more than 11% and digital growing more than sixfold. EBITDA grew 22% to 172 million dollars. While net profit came in at 90 million dollars resulting in fourth quarter EPS of 37 cents.
Speaker #3: CAPEX intensity was steady and in line with our stated outlook at 30%. Finally, we ended the quarter with a cash balance of 455 million dollars sustaining our fortress balance sheet.
Speaker #3: Next slide, please. Going segment by segment, let's start with mobile. Mobile subscribers were stable at 22.4 million. The soft year-on-year trend reflects multi-SIM users dropping their secondary cards as well as Ukraine's present demographic pressures.
Speaker #3: Our churn rate was 13.5% in fourth quarter down some 4 percentage points year on year but rebounding from the third quarter secular low. We continue to lead with the highest market share in Ukraine mobile.
Speaker #3: Mobile RPO maintained double-digit growth, rising 17% year on year to $3.80, or 161 hryvnias. Core drivers included in migration of more than 2% of customers quarter on quarter to 4G plans, okay, around 31% year on year growth in data consumption and customers moving to multiplay which supports both mobile and digital revenue.
Speaker #3: Relatedly, note the accelerating growth in fixed broadband where the customer base grew 4% year on year. Note the accelerating share of broadband customer who subscribe to Kyivstar TV, which expanded more than 3 percentage points quarter on quarter to 48%.
Speaker #3: We attribute this growth to effective marketing and the rising appeal of our content library including programs not available elsewhere in Ukraine. Let's go to the next slide.
Speaker #3: Yes. Cross-sales and synergies bring us back to the core of our digital growth strategy, multiplayer. Multiplayer counts customer that use at least one digital app in addition to voice and data services.
Speaker #3: The multiplayer segment drives growth through stronger customer engagement, higher data consumption, and improved retention. Multiplayer customers grew 18% year on year in the fourth quarter to reach 7.3 million.
Speaker #3: This equates to 35% of our one-month active customer base on nearly 6 percentage points higher than a year earlier. They also generate higher RPO.
Speaker #3: The average multiplayer customer spends $5.20 a month on our services. 37% more than the average for a mobile customer alone. So next slide. Let me now delve deeper into the digital revenue performance.
Speaker #3: I highlighted earlier how digital increased by more than six times year on year to reach 50 million dollars or more than 2.1 billion hryvnias now accounting for nearly 16% of revenue.
Speaker #3: I would like to make three points. First, while the consolidation of Uklon from April magnified our digital revenues, even without Uklon, digital revenue grew 140%.
Speaker #3: Secondly, growth spans all verticals: healthy, Kyivstar TV, digital enterprise, and Uklon. Thirdly, our sustainable cost advantages stem directly from our business synergies including our low customer acquisition costs and an optimized distribution model.
Speaker #3: This enabled us to scale profitability and maintain strong economics. Moving to Uklon, our ride-hailing business. In Q4 alone, Uklon contributed more than 1.4 billion hryvnias in revenue and 386 million hryvnias in EBITDA.
Speaker #3: The platform grew rides booked by 9% year on year to 43.6 million and deliveries completed by 22% to 1.3 million. For December alone, monthly users reached record high 3.8 million.
Speaker #3: Uklon's EBITDA reflects a growing and profitable business in Ukraine. Our digital enterprise business continued to gain traction this quarter, demand is rising across Ukraine's corporate and government sectors for cloud, cybersecurity, big data, and advanced connectivity solutions.
Speaker #3: The business generated 250 million hryvnias in revenue, up 64% year over year. Growth is steady across our services in the number of businesses turning to Kyivstar to enhance their digital operations.
Speaker #3: For example, Advisor, our self-service ad page platform, has seen registered clients expand by more than half a quarter on quarter to reach more than 3,800 customers.
Speaker #3: Kyivstar Page remains central to connecting all the parts of our ecosystem to providing IT and AI-related services to external enterprises and to our leadership in the wider Ukrainian tech space.
Speaker #3: This includes leading our partnership to build an LLM with Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation to serve both public and private sector needs. In December, we announced that Google's next-generation OpenAI model Gemma would be the foundational architecture for the model.
Speaker #3: On the entertainment, Kyivstar TV continues to strengthen its position as Ukraine's leading digital entertainment platform. The business's revenues quadrupled in the fourth quarter year on year to 351 million hryvnias.
Speaker #3: Several key factors contributed. First, shifting our TV partnership to a platform-rent model as discussed in detail in the third quarter. Second, subscriber expansion for instance, active customers rose 25% year on year in December to 2.5 million and, as mentioned, 48% of our broadband customers are now also Kyivstar TV subscribers.
Speaker #3: And our growing and unique content library including the production, which partners of Original, unique content in Ukrainian. Now we have healthy. Ukraine's leading health tech platform.
Speaker #3: Healthy had more than 28 million registered patients with access to more than 1,700 healthcare institutions and over 42,000 medical professionals at the end of 2025.
Speaker #3: Healthy is deeply embedded in Ukraine's e-health ecosystem, which manages appointments, scheduling, prescriptions, and health records. This motivates patients and providers to continue working with the platform.
Speaker #3: As we ramp up monetization with premium offerings that complement our established free services, revenue grew 40% year on year to 95 million hryvnias in the fourth quarter.
Speaker #3: Our paid models ended the year with more than 57,000 subscribers, nearly quadrupling year on year. Among our expanding paid services are advanced health insight products such as professional interpretation of medical tests, results, and biomarker tracking.
Speaker #3: The service also demonstrates our commitments to corporate social responsibility and ESG, as healthy improves access to healthcare during the wartime. Let me now pass the call to Boris to talk through the financials in more detail.
Speaker #1: Thank you, Oleksandr. We delivered full-year revenue of nearly 1.2 billion dollars or 48 billion hryvnias, up 25.8% year over year in dollar terms. This momentum was kept off by a stellar fourth quarter where total revenue reached 321 million dollars or 28% year on year.
Speaker #1: For the full year, telecom revenue grew 15% or 1 billion dollars. As highlighted earlier, this growth was driven by robust RPU expansion, customer upgrade to data rich 3G, 4G plans, and mobile data consumption that surged.
Speaker #1: Digital revenue soared nearly six-fold for the full year to 124 million dollars, representing 10.7% of total revenue. The momentum is accelerating rapidly. In the fourth quarter alone, digital revenue reached 50 million dollars and made up 15.7% of total revenue.
Speaker #1: This growth comes not only from Uklon but almost from higher multiple penetration and rapid expansion across our digital verticals. Including digital enterprise solution, Kyivstar TV, and Healthy.
Speaker #1: On profitability, full-year EBITDA grew 25.8% year over year to 648 million dollars. Hence, we sustained resilient full-year EBITDA margin of 56%. Reflecting strong operating leverage and disciplined cost management.
Speaker #1: Uklon was a material new contributor to this. Delivering 27.6 million dollars for the full-year EBITDA including 9.2 million dollars in the fourth quarter alone.
Speaker #1: I highlight here while digital margins are structurally lower, then telecom margins then their CapEx intensity is lower, resulting in incomparable cash conversions. As our revenue needs shift towards digital, we remain focused on sustaining EBITDA growth at scale while enhancing group-wide capital efficiency and long-term free cash flow generation.
Speaker #1: For the full year, CapEx excluding licenses and leases totaled 351 million dollars, resulting in CapEx intensity of 30.3%. This reflects our sustained investment to improve quality and reliability, network modernization, and extensive energy installations.
Speaker #1: By December, we operated approximately 3,740 generators and 252,000 batteries for backup capacity. Despite this escalating investments, Kyivstar continues to generate substantial free cash flow.
Speaker #1: For full-year equity free cash flow after leases and licenses reach a robust 194 million dollars. Turning now to the balance sheet. We ended the year with an exceptionally strong cash and deposits position of 456 million dollars on 19.3 billion hryvnias.
Speaker #1: This solid footing ensures we continue to be well placed to fund our rec ecosystem expansion and capital investments while maintaining a prudent and flexible capital structure.
Speaker #1: Gross debt, including leases, stood at 104 million dollars or 4.4 billion hryvnias. As a reminder, we carry significant we carry insignificant external debt, the figure primarily reflects the debt to our parent company, VION.
Speaker #1: Lease liabilities stood at 374 million dollars or 15.9 billion hryvnias, which arise mainly from our infrastructure tower lease agreement with Ukrainian tower company and a fully recognized under IFRS 16 standards.
Speaker #1: Our net cash position when excluding those leases liabilities remains robust at 352 million dollars. Let me now hand the call back to Oleksandr. Oleksandr, you're on mute.
Speaker #2: Yeah, thank you, Boris. Thank you.
Speaker #3: Thank you. Let me briefly update you on the strategic priorities. In the mobile telecom business, we are focused on sustainable market leadership through maintaining and developing a high-quality paying customer base.
Speaker #3: Technological leadership and ecosystem of existing and new digital products and innovations like direct-to-sell. In the fixed broadband market, we want to strengthen group leadership via organic expansion and acquisitions.
Speaker #3: In digital, we are concentrated on growing digital offerings organically and through acquisitions and increasing multiplayer penetration and customer engagement. Next slide, please. As of our recent strategic milestone and execution, we remain proud to be the first company in Europe and among the first companies globally to provide customers starting direct-to-sell.
Speaker #3: Almost 5 million customers have already taken advantage of the initial text capabilities. We look forward to rolling out live data and OTT voice later this year.
Speaker #3: In December, we acquired something 11 for 8.2 million dollars, something operates an early 13 megawatt solar plant producing energy equivalent to 4% of our annual electricity consumption.
Speaker #3: The investment offered us a natural hedge on energy one of our largest recurring costs. It also dovetails with our strategy to support Ukraine's recovery and energy independence, as well as being complementary to the demands of our digital services.
Speaker #3: In late February 2026, we announced the acquisition of fixed broadband internet service provider Storm for 420 million hryvnias. The acquisition brings over 50,000 new broadband customers across 130 municipalities into the Kyivstar ecosystem supporting our strategy to expand our broadband network.
Speaker #3: Finally, we also announced in February the acquisition of Tabletky UA. Ukraine's leading online marketplace for healthcare and wellness products. So on the next slide, a few words about Tabletky.
Speaker #3: Tabletky connects our customers with over 14,000 pharmacies. The platform already facilitated and averaged 14 million monthly bookings in 2025 and generated some 1.2 billion dollars in gross merchandise value over the 12 months to September 30.
Speaker #3: The transaction is immediately earning accretive for future quarters. Based on the company's trailing 12 months management accounts, the purchase came at an EV to EBITDA for 6.7 and PE at 8, which we consider attractive multiples.
Speaker #3: Strategically, the acquisition expands our digital healthcare footprint. By integration, Tabletky, alongside Healthy and the Uklon delivery network, we expect to realize meaningful cross-selling synergies and drive further engagement across our 15 million digital monthly active customers.
Speaker #3: In other words, this is another way Kyivstar aims to make our customers' lives a bit easier and more efficient while also creating value for shareholders.
Speaker #3: Looking further ahead on the financials, despite the challenges and uncertainties, Kyivstar continues to execute strongly. For the full year of 2026, we expect revenue to grow by 8 to 11% and EBITDA to grow by 5 to 8% in dollar terms.
Speaker #3: Please note that this assumes an average exchange rate of 44.5 hryvnias to the dollar. In local currency terms, this translates to an expectation of 15 to 18% for revenue growth and 12 to 15% EBITDA growth.
Speaker #3: The relative slowdown in our outlooks year-on-year growth reflects the comparison-based no longer including the immediate after months of the 2023 cyber attack, a weaker spot exchange rate, and normalization after the inclusion of Uklon.
Speaker #3: Regarding capital allocation, we expect CAPEX intensity to moderate to a range of 23 to 26% of revenue for the year. This reflects our plan to continue targeted investments that sustain our network quality and energy resilience while normalizing from the elevated accelerated investments we made throughout 2025.
Speaker #3: As always, this outlook reflects the best visibility we have today, it remains subject to the significant external uncertainties we face given the war. Let me now summarize.
Speaker #3: We are uniquely positioned at the only direct dedicated equity exposure to Ukrainian to Ukraine listed on a US stock exchange. Despite the geopolitical issues, we are leveraging our digital momentum sustainable self-cash flow and fortress balance sheet to drive expansion.
Speaker #3: Reinforce our network resilience and play a leading role in Ukraine's stage sector. Our operational and financial performance, including double-digit growth across segments, reflects not only the attractiveness of our offerings and markets, but also the execution strengths of our world-class team.
Speaker #3: Regardless of the externalities, we remain confident in Ukraine's trajectory and the opportunities before us. We are committing to shaping Ukraine's digital future from AI and cloud capabilities to offering our customers more ways to connect with each other and the world.
Speaker #3: Thank you for your support for Kyivstar. We can now open for the line for the Q&A.
Speaker #1: Thank you. At this time, if you would like to ask a question, please click on the raise hand button, which can be found on the black bar at the bottom of your screen.
Speaker #1: When it is your turn to ask a question, you will receive a prompt to be promoted as a panelist. Please accept. Wait a moment and once you have been introduced, you may unmute yourself, turn your video on, and ask your question.
Speaker #1: Written questions can be submitted on the webcast by using the ask a question tab at the top right of your screen. As a reminder, we are allowing analysts one question and one related follow-up today.
Speaker #1: If you wish to ask more questions, please raise your hand again to rejoin the queue. We will pause for a moment to allow questioners to enter the queue.
Speaker #1: Our first question comes from Jesse Sobelson with BTIG. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Speaker #2: Hi everyone. Thanks for taking my questions. It's nice to see the stability mobile and the digital strength. On the mobile side, I believe Ukraine recently joined the EU's Rome Like at Home framework in January 2026.
Speaker #2: Could you comment on how you anticipate this to impact your business and if it's material or not?
Speaker #3: Okay. Let me take it. So first of all, I really welcome Ukraine to join EU Roaming Zone. This is probably the first practical step on the Ukrainian way to join European Union.
Speaker #3: Okay. From the financial perspective, it will have let's say substantial impact on our P&L, taking into account that EU Roaming Zone is not only regulated mobile termination rate, but also country termination rate.
Speaker #3: Because of this and taking into account that Ukraine is normally a receiver of traffic from the Europe, we will face something like 1 billion hryvnia effect negative effect on our top line, which is almost 100% translated into the EBITDA.
Speaker #2: That's great detail and that explains part of the guidance here. That we're seeing. Thanks for that. And I guess just a quick follow-up. Guidance is still strong.
Speaker #2: You still call for high single-digit growth this year. Could you break down what's expected from the digital segment in Uklon versus the mobile segment and your subscriber base in that forecast?
Speaker #3: We do expect relative stability of our subscriber base. And much faster growth of our digital value proposition and penetration of the multiplayer. Okay. So as you see, we are developing organically and we still have a certain run rate that was initiated in 2025.
Speaker #3: Okay. That will have significant effect on our 2026 results. Okay. And at the same time, we are moving according we are actually executing our strategy and according to our strategy, we are interested in development of different digital domains.
Speaker #3: Okay. And probably tablet key is a very good evidence that we are disciplined in our strategy execution.
Speaker #2: Great. Thanks for the detail there, guys. I'll pass it on.
Speaker #1: Our next question comes from Max Finley with Ross Child and Co Redburn. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Speaker #2: Hi. Thank you very much. For taking the time to answer my questions. So I was hoping to firstly dig into your revenue and EBITDA outlook for '26.
Speaker #2: There's been a little bit of confusion about what is in the guidance. So can I first check whether the outlook includes inorganic contributions, so Uklon and Q1, and tablet key?
Speaker #2: And I might just let you answer that before I follow up.
Speaker #3: I have a lot of worries to take this question.
Speaker #2: Yes. The Max, thank you for the question. So the impacts of Uklon full-year consolidation and tablet key from the acquisition data are included.
Speaker #3: Okay. So if I could follow up, please. That suggests that your EBITDA guide is quite conservative. So if I look at the guidance you've given us today, which is 5 to 8 percent for EBITDA, at the midpoint, that implies EBITDA growing an absolute terms in dollars by 40 million.
Speaker #3: Now, you might expect 35 million of that to come from a mixture of Uklon and tablet key. Which implies the rest of the business is growing at 7 million, or about 1 percent.
Speaker #3: And I was just wondering, do you feel this EBITDA guidance is quite conservative, or is that how you see the underlying business performing in the year?
Speaker #2: Let me start and then I will probably ask Boris to add some followers. There are a number of factors that are incorporated in our current output.
Speaker #2: Okay. So first is a comparison base which was slightly affected by the cyber attack and our unprecedented program retention program that we provided to our customers at the beginning of 2024.
Speaker #2: The second one is the changing proportion of the telco business and digital business with a certain pressure imposed by the digital business on the EBITDA marginality.
Speaker #2: Okay. And the third factor is EU Roaming Zone. Okay. That will have a direct impact on our EBITDA. And the fourth factor is actually probably a drop of prudence incorporated into our outlook.
Speaker #2: So Boris, may you add something?
Speaker #4: Yeah. Just Max, I think you're looking at the dollar number. So you need to consider so we provided the dollar rates in for 2024, 2025, and also the outlook we used for 2026.
Speaker #4: So you see that in 2025, it was almost flat. So now we see the accelerated devaluation of RIDNA. That's why we provided these forecasts with the exchange rate of 44.5.
Speaker #4: Yeah. And another factor is definitely we have a very uncertain time and we want to be prudent with our outlook. So we want to monitor the developments over the next several months before we can revisit it.
Speaker #2: Okay. Thank you very much. If I could squeeze one follow-up in, that'd be much appreciated. So your guidance implies margins will contract, which you did discuss on the call.
Speaker #2: But I was just wondering if you could help us understand what is behind the OPEX pressures that your guidance implies and particularly about global energy prices, which face a lot of uncertainty at the moment.
Speaker #2: I wonder how your guidance has accounted for this and what your exposure is given a lot of the investment you've done is in backup energy solutions.
Speaker #2: Thank you.
Speaker #4: Alexander, yes, if I may take this one. So we discussed with you on the previous calls that one of the biggest factors in our cost is actually the energy cost and the cost of the utilities.
Speaker #4: So this is especially relevant when we are talking about the period of the massive blackout that the time when we need to run significant part of our network on the diesel generators.
Speaker #4: Also the spike of electricity prices given both the attacks on the energy infrastructure in Ukraine, but also the global energy crisis, which has now happened because of the crisis in the Middle East.
Speaker #4: At the same time, kind of we incorporated this in our forecast. We do, as you see, try to hedge this energy prices with the focused investment into energy sector, like a Sunlean acquisition.
Speaker #4: So we are definitely considering other options, kind of to back up. Yeah. And let's say to hedge our dependency on the electricity prices. We are actively working on now.
Speaker #4: So the increase, I think, of the presence in the energy sector for us is the natural hedge. Against these utilities growths for the coming periods.
Speaker #3: And maybe one more comment from my side. So because of the current situation, so Ukraine is being supported by European Union from the energy resilience and certain impact export or impact of the electricity in Ukraine.
Speaker #3: And quite often right now, we have Eastern European prices for the business. In Ukraine. So I do not expect so significant inflation in energy pricing as we used to experience during the last three years.
Speaker #2: Thank you very much. Very helpful.
Speaker #1: Our next question comes from Vincent Fernando with 01. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Speaker #5: Hi. Thank you. I have questions on the digital platform. So first on tablet key. For this 160-mile deal, you already own Helsi, and that has millions of users.
Speaker #5: You also have your Kyivstar subscribers. Can you give some color or your expectation for when we could see a timeline for maybe a Helsi to tablet key integration or by, for example, people could book their prescriptions through Helsi and then that would go into your tablet key platform?
Speaker #5: My second question is just on Uklon. I'm just wondering if you could provide what the current market share is for Uklon. Because I know you have an Uber and Bolt operating and also do you view that market as having a TAM expansion opportunity once if conflict eases down in Ukraine?
Speaker #5: Thank you.
Speaker #3: Okay. Let me start with the synergies between Helsi and tablet key. Of course, you are absolutely right. This is a kind of our vision that we would like to execute.
Speaker #3: And this vision is starting with the appointment down through the Helsi application between patient and doctor. Okay. We want them to have an opportunity to choose and to book medicine or pharmacy products, let's say, so that this will within the same customer journey and in case of necessity to be delivered by Uklon to the patient.
Speaker #3: Okay. So this is our vision. So our specific plan is to start pilots or some kind of MVPs between Helsi and tablet key during this year.
Speaker #3: Okay. With a clear strategy that we will present to the KGO supervisory board somewhere in Q4 2026. Right now, we are very much focused on the business stabilization and integration.
Speaker #3: Okay. So we want to be sure that businesses developing according to the business case that is actually behind our acquisition. And by the way, we do not include any synergies into the business case.
Speaker #3: So it's I know so quite I would say attractive business case results synergies. Okay. We want to stabilize. We want to integrate from different perspectives because to integrate local business into the, let's say, public domain public company is a challenge.
Speaker #3: And then we will be focused on the development strategies and synergies between Helsi and tablet key between Uklon and tablet key between Kyivstar and tablet key.
Speaker #2: Great. Thank you. And just the items on Uklon, if you may.
Speaker #3: Yes. And Uklon market share is not clear. Because it's not so transparent market like mobile telecom market or fixed broadband market. We are definitely market leader.
Speaker #3: We have just indirect market assessments through the banking payments. Okay. So I don't think that it is right to present, let's say, market share based on this, but it is clear that Uklon is a market leader, Bolt is number two, and Uber is number three on the right-hand market.
Speaker #3: Okay. We are still growing and we are growing through the growing penetration of the right-hand services and growing market share.
Speaker #5: Okay. And then do you envision a TAM expansion for the whole ride-sharing space if things ease in the Ukraine?
Speaker #3: We have our own strategy. Okay. And this strategy let's name it a modern mobility strategy around Uklon. We want Uklon to expand into the mobility segment.
Speaker #3: We are already doing some experiments with the bus tickets with a special dedicated buses for the most popular routes. For example, in Bukavel, this is our let's say skiing resort, the most popular skiing resort in Ukraine.
Speaker #3: So we are doing some experiments how to develop the ecosystem of the modern mobility services around Uklon. And by the way, one of these experiments is already a successful standalone business is a delivery business, which is growing 22% year on year.
Speaker #5: Great. Thank you.
Speaker #1: Our next question comes from Chris Hall at NSR. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Speaker #2: Yeah. Thank you. And thanks for the time. My question almost follows on from the previous one. Just sort of thinking about the expansion of the digital ecosystem you've obviously been quite active from an M&A perspective.
Speaker #2: And now you want to extract maximum synergies from putting all these businesses together. And I just wonder, whether you feel like you're sort of approaching the limit of what management bandwidth you have to be able to fully deliver on all of that or should we expect a kind of similar cadence of M&A going forward over the next kind of 12 or 18 months?
Speaker #3: It's a bit difficult to make very clear forecast about M&A activity because it's not only depends on us. Okay. So I think that we have strategic intent to develop our ecosystem organically and non-organically.
Speaker #3: Okay. And we have appetite for this. Okay. You are right. We should take into account our organizational form and talent how we are going to lead this business in the future.
Speaker #3: And somehow we are doing a certain, let's say, evolutionary steps around KGO group. Okay. And we are considering how to structure KGO in the future around certain verticals.
Speaker #3: We are just at the beginning of this process, but this will let us to control a relatively diversified group. Okay. So to manage it properly and to ensure synergies between the different verticals.
Speaker #2: Yeah. Okay. Interesting. Thank you.
Speaker #5: Chris, Sasha, if you allow me to mention one more concern because our acquisitions strategy comes with actually also a talent acquisition strategy. When we acquire companies like Uklon, Helsi, or tablet key, they come with fantastic management teams and we find this as a very effective way of actually growing our leadership pool.
Speaker #5: And if you look to Sasha's and Boris's portfolio in Ukraine, you will see one obvious missing element, which is digital banking. And I think that's the piece that keeps all of us excited for next couple of years.
Speaker #2: Just to follow up on that, does it my understanding is there needs to be regulatory change to enable you to enter that market. Is that still the case or am I behind the curve there?
Speaker #3: Well, it is still the case. And we are working on this. We are in a dialogue with the National Bank of Ukraine. We want to address this.
Speaker #3: But of course, so we want to combine this with a very clear strategy what type of role we want to play because there are different types of licenses.
Speaker #3: Different approaches. So somehow for us, it's not only a matter of regulation. It's also a matter of the right entry strategy into the segment.
Speaker #2: Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker #1: Our next question comes from Matthew Harrigan with Stonex. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Speaker #4: Oh, thank you. I think you alluded to the demographic effects, diaspora, on the telecom, churn. I think there's something like 7 million people, mostly women and children, not military age, men.
Speaker #4: But presumably, if we did get a settlement, I mean, you probably wouldn't have a staff function return of all those people to Ukraine. Clearly.
Speaker #4: But you'd probably get some positive. Drift, tailwind for a number of years for people returning. I know that there's probably some app opportunities, especially on the entertainment side, as with Beyond Pakistan business.
Speaker #4: But obviously, you'd love to have those people come back to Ukraine. For a lot of reasons. I mean, do you think that's tenable or do you think I would think the EU, Poland in particular, would probably be pretty anxious to see people return to Ukraine and that would presumably help your business?
Speaker #3: Well, I think this is very right consideration that significant share of the migrants out will be back in Ukraine. It will take some time, of course.
Speaker #3: One of the mandatory requirements is a stable ceasefire. Okay. But we do expect that this will be one of the major factors that will affect Ukraine, Ukrainian economy, and our business.
Speaker #3: Okay. In case of peaceful resolution of the current war. Okay. Right now, we're still in touch with these customers. We are on a monthly basis servicing 2 million migrants.
Speaker #3: So we are servicing a bit more than average European operator. Okay. Of customers abroad. Okay. So just because they still have a live connection with Ukraine, with their relatives, with their banking system, sometimes with their employers so that's why we are essential part of this kind of humanitarian communication link between Ukraine and Ukrainians abroad.
Speaker #4: Thank you.
Speaker #1: Our next question comes from Ahmed Mustafa with INAM. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Speaker #6: Hello, everyone. Thanks for the presentation. And congrats on the numbers. I have one question. You have successfully reached 5 million users on the Starlink direct-to-sell service for messaging.
Speaker #6: As you transition to voice and live data services later in 2026, what is the planned monetization model specifically? Do you see this as a driver for higher-tier ARPU bundles or a primary as a defensive tool to maintain your low churn rates?
Speaker #6: Thank you.
Speaker #3: Yes. We do consider certain approaches to commercialization of the light data and voiceover OTT services. So right now, current messaging service we are considering like a humanitarian service.
Speaker #3: And we want this to be available to everyone in Ukraine. So our message is very simple and a very difficult energy situation and a very difficult security situation.
Speaker #3: With Keystar, with LTE smartphone, Keystar SIM card, and Open Sky, you can be online regardless of the circumstances. But yes, we have certain plans how we will commercialize live data and voiceover OTT.
Speaker #3: Okay. But right now, our main focus on this humanitarian service churn reduction and loyalty increase.
Speaker #4: Thank you. Thanks so much.
Speaker #1: Our next question comes from Natalia Shpigotska from Dragon Capital. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Speaker #7: Congratulations on the great results. One question from my side, please. As we understand that lockup period for the sale of the company's shares by the parent and SPAC sponsors have now expired, and so we may see fast new share offerings.
Speaker #7: And I would like to ask if any new share offerings similar to the SPO in late January would be linked to a similar registration of new offered shares and would be accompanied by respective regulatory feelings with the Stock Exchange Commission.
Speaker #7: Thank you very much.
Speaker #3: Thank you for your question. I will ask Cole to answer. Cole, please.
Speaker #2: I would be happy to, but just let me double-check that Con doesn't want to address that.
Speaker #6: So Natalia, thanks a lot. I think what we see is we are running a campaign called Invest in Ukraine Now, right? And there are not many investable vehicles in the world for people from the Western community, US, Europe, to participate in a phenomenal opportunity of reconstructing Ukraine.
Speaker #6: So we will keep our minds open. In terms of making further offerings of Kyivstar to the market. And we are very well informed about the SEC regulations, so we'll, of course, be compliant to all those when those opportunities arise.
Speaker #6: But I was extremely happy to see that in our secondary offering in January. We had five times demand. And that shows actually the appetite of Western investors to participate in the Ukrainian growth opportunity.
Speaker #7: Very much appreciated. Thank you very much.
Speaker #1: Our next question comes from Tim Horan with Opco. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Speaker #8: Oh, thank you. Can we get a little bit more details about the satellite links, the direct-to-device? Can you just talk about the quality? What percentage of text messages do you think are going through?
Speaker #8: What's the latency look like? And maybe just any color how long is your exclusivity and how do you monetize this longer term?
Speaker #3: Okay. Let me take it. So first of all, we do not have any exclusivity. Okay. So we are developing a robust strategy of, let's say, cooperation between terrestrial and non-terrestrial service providers.
Speaker #3: Okay. So we are considering that this is the future of the telecom value proposition. Okay. So far, it's just the first step. So we have launched in November 2025 mobile messaging through the Starlink direct-to-sell network.
Speaker #3: Okay. So far, almost 5 million customers use this service. The proportion is around 20% sent SMS versus 80% received SMS. Okay. So we see that the probability okay, the SLA is really good.
Speaker #3: So I don't see any difference with the terrestrial network from the delivery perspective and quality perspective. So everything is okay with the service. Okay.
Speaker #3: And what I also see that, of course, because of the war situation is a kind of tendency, that services, especially popular on the eastern part of Ukraine, closer to the front line.
Speaker #3: Okay. We do expect commercialization. So on the base of the free of charge messaging services and right now, we are considering different approaches. It can be a standalone value-add service.
Speaker #3: It can be an extra service to the high-value bundles. Okay. So all options are possible. Okay. And we will introduce this somewhere in Q3 2026.
Speaker #3: We are planning to introduce it in Q3 2026.
Speaker #8: And can you update us on your fiber strategy? Are you more focused on build-outs or on?
Speaker #3: You mean fixed broadband strategy or fiber as an fixed broadband strategy?
Speaker #2: Fixed broadband, yeah.
Speaker #3: Okay. Yes. We are developing organically and non-organically. Organically, we are increasing penetration into our current infrastructure. So our current penetration is around 25%, of course.
Speaker #3: It's different region by region, and it is a bit different from the lifetime perspective across the region. Okay. So that's why one of our focuses is to increase penetration into the current infrastructure through fixed mobile convergent value proposition.
Speaker #3: And as you see, we are quite successfully developing not only 2P value proposition, but actually 3P value proposition. For your understanding, right now, from 100% fixed broadband customer base, 80% are 2P customers and 48% are 3P customers who are using not only fixed broadband, but also mobile and Kyivstar OTT TV services.
Speaker #3: Okay. So first focus is to increase penetration. Second focus is a new construction. So we are building more than 1,000 effective houses every year.
Speaker #3: Okay. And we want to develop. We are building mainly expon technology. Okay. And we are trying to either modernize our current FTTB network to 1 gigabit speed or to substitute it with the expon GPON technology.
Speaker #3: Okay. We are also focused on non-organic development. Non-organic development is acquisitions and storm is one of the examples. It's actually second acquisition that we did during the last 18 months is on the market.
Speaker #3: Okay. And through the partnership. So we have huge infrastructure and we are dominant player in the urban areas. And somehow we are considering an open fiber approach and we made certain proposals for the biggest fixed broadband and convergent operators in Ukraine in order to exchange our current infrastructure and to ensure entrance into the new regions.
Speaker #8: Thank you very much.
Speaker #1: Thank you. Our next question is a written question from Sergey Lyashenko from Osha Bank. It says, "Does Kyivstar have plans to follow MHP and to issue international and/or local bonds in 2026 or later?"
Speaker #3: It's probably a bit more focused question to our chairman, Andrei, who wants to answer it.
Speaker #2: Let me answer it this way. As you can imagine, we are one of the biggest enterprises in Ukraine. And I see one of our responsibilities to contribute to development of the capital markets in the country.
Speaker #2: And if we see an opportunity, for taking a lead here, creating transparency, a best practice in the country, I would actually encourage my team to consider about issuing a local bond.
Speaker #2: I think this would make a pioneering action on the country, and I would be supportive of that. Not that we necessarily need cash to run our business or make investments, but I think it is a responsibility for the capital markets development.
Speaker #3: Yeah. Let me add. We already declared that a kind of people's IPO is one of our dreams. Okay. So we are considering what are the possibilities, but it is probably too early, let's say, to address these questions with certain details.
Speaker #1: Thank you.
Speaker #2: Thank you. Thank you for the question.
Speaker #1: Our next question comes from Adrian Kundy with Emerging and Frontier Capital. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Speaker #9: Good afternoon, gentlemen. Thank you for your time. Just looking at the slides, I was could you provide some further color on the what seems to be a pretty substantial revenue acceleration at Oklahona and Kyivstar TV in Q4?
Speaker #9: And with respect to Oklahona, is that is any of that because of the Kazakhstan entry or market expansion, or is it really just sort of deliveries and increased usage?
Speaker #3: Well, there are three drivers of the Oklahona growth. The core right-hand business growth, I can say it's a bit more organic growth rather than exponential growth.
Speaker #3: Okay. The second driver is delivery business. This is where we observe especially at the Q4 a very significant growth rate. Okay. And the third one is advertising business.
Speaker #3: So we are developing advertising from scratch. And so it is still relatively low in absolute term, but it is providing so 100% year-on-year growth for absolutely new business within the Oklahona portfolio.
Speaker #3: Okay. Kyivstar TV is driven by three factors. The first one is a new contractual terms from revenue share to platform rent. Okay. With our partner, OnePlus One.
Speaker #3: The second one is our growing number of customers. We reached 2.5 million with a relatively low share of freemium customers. And I think customers and I think this is a quite big achievement.
Speaker #3: And the third one is Kyivstar Originals. So we already producing around 10-plus titles per year that are available only on the Kyivstar TV platform with a certain exclusive agreements with the major, with the global majors.
Speaker #3: And the whole content is in Ukrainian language, which is also from my perspective, is one of the competitive advantages.
Speaker #9: Okay. And then a quick follow-up on sorry, on Oklahona. You alluded to earlier as to developing a mobility strategy. Could you give some color?
Speaker #9: Are you going to be are you going to be sort of getting in the vehicle acquisition or the vehicle leasing business to drivers? And could you also give us an update just quickly on what's happening with the Kazakh launches?
Speaker #9: I've noticed there's a website and a few other things.
Speaker #3: Okay.
Speaker #9: And I think you've mentioned also taking it to other markets like Bangladesh and Pakistan. So just sort of an overall strategic top-down would be great.
Speaker #3: Okay. Okay. Let me start with the ecosystem development. So we tend to stay with an asset-like model if it is possible. Okay. So from this perspective, we are right-handed online, right-handed platform rather than taxi, fleet, or taxi service in Ukraine.
Speaker #3: Okay. And this is our key priority. But we are trying to develop a new services around very strong Oklahona brand. Delivery is one of the examples.
Speaker #3: Okay. But it is not only peer-to-peer delivery. It is also delivery through the agents, like global model. Okay. So we are also considering to enter into the new segments of the modern mobility.
Speaker #3: Okay. But this is just the plans. And as I already declared, okay, so one of the potential priorities for us is so delivery synergies within the group.
Speaker #3: Okay. We did not take any decisions for the international expansion yet. So we are developing our business in Uzbekistan. We are satisfied with the current results, but we want to be sure that our model of international expansion is validated enough based on the synergies between telco and right-handed business.
Speaker #9: Okay. Thank you very much. If I could just one more quick question.
Speaker #2: Adrian. Adrian, I'm really sorry. We're actually out of time. So could you and I follow up on that later? We have one more question from someone who hasn't gotten a chance to speak yet.
Speaker #9: Go ahead. No problem. Thank you.
Speaker #1: Final question comes from Tim Savageau with Northland. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Speaker #2: Hi. Good morning and thanks for squeezing me in. You mentioned digital services at 16% of revenue, exiting the year. I wonder, as you consider both the organic and inorganic contributions, whether you might have a target for where you expect digital services to be exiting calendar 26, whether that might be above 20% and you mentioned the triple-digit organic growth rate in digital services ex-acquisitions.
Speaker #2: Do you expect that to continue?
Speaker #3: It will be kind of forward-looking statement, team. So to be fair, you know all our current digital assets and their digital assets and their trends.
Speaker #3: And somehow, I think you can build quite easily the trajectory of our digital business development. I was satisfied with the so forecasted result? No.
Speaker #3: We want to grow faster in our digital ecosystem. But of course, through the prism of value creation, okay, to our customers and to the shareholders.
Speaker #2: Okay. And then just a brief follow-up. You did see a pretty significant uptick in multi-play subscribers in Q4. I wonder if there's anything seasonal or promotional about that or to what extent you expect that trend to continue as well.
Speaker #2: Thanks.
Speaker #3: Certain seasonality is definitely in place. Okay. Because Q4 is normally very, very attractive season for the right-handed for the OTT TV business. And partially for the MyKey Star business.
Speaker #3: Okay. So certain seasonality is in place. I do expect a certain normalization in Q1. Not decline, but a certain normalization of the growth rate.
Speaker #3: Okay. And this is actually what we have seen during the years. Normally, Q4 is a record high. Q1 is a normalization and Q2 is a return shift to the next year growth.
Speaker #2: Thanks, Arnold.
Speaker #1: Thank you. We have no further questions at this time. I will now hand back to Cole Akerson for closing remarks.
Speaker #2: Thank you all for participating today, for joining us to discuss our first time as a listed company releasing annual results. As you know, we appreciate the work you do and look forward to continuing these conversations in the future.
Speaker #2: If any questions remain unanswered, please contact us directly, and we will do our best to help you out. I think that's more than enough from us for now.
Speaker #2: And thank you again. We will look forward to speaking with you soon.
Speaker #9: Thank you.
Speaker #3: Thank you, everyone.