Vodafone Ukraine sees 30.1% drop in net profit in 2024 despite 13.1% revenue growth
Vodafone Ukraine (VF Ukraine), the country's second-largest mobile operator, posted a 13.1% year-on-year increase in revenue to UAH 24.44 billion in 2024, while net profit fell by 30.1% to UAH 3.54 billion.
According to the company's official website, as of December 31, 2024, service revenue had grown by 12.9% year-over-year to UAH 24.44 billion.
Revenue from mobile services rose by 12.46% to UAH 18.97 billion; interconnect revenue increased by 11.3% to UAH 2.47 billion; and fixed-line services surged by 48.8% to UAH 936 million. Roaming revenue, however, declined by 6.34%.
The company's OIBDA (Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization) fell by 3.6% to UAH 12.22 billion. The OIBDA margin dropped by 8.7 percentage points to 50%.
Operating profit declined by 12.2% to UAH 7.1 billion, while pre-tax profit dropped 23.95% to UAH 4.51 billion.
"Vodafone Ukraine's net profit came in at UAH 3.5 billion, down 30% from 2023. This decline was driven by foreign exchange losses resulting from an 11% appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the hryvnia, as well as a partial decrease in operating profit," the press service reported.
The company's subscriber base shrank by 0.7% in 2024 to 15.8 million users. The average revenue per user (ARPU) rose 10% to UAH 118.4.
"Organic traffic growth was one of the key drivers of the 10% ARPU increase. The subscriber base has remained stable over the past three years. In 2024, the company saw an increase in postpaid subscriptions, largely due to new IoT connections and a growing number of individual contract customers," the press service added.
Vodafone Ukraine also increased its capital investments by 10% to UAH 6.2 billion in 2024.
"Despite the ongoing war, the company not only maintained but expanded its investments in the development and maintenance of Ukraine's telecom infrastructure. Over the three years of full-scale war, Vodafone has invested UAH 15.5 billion in Ukraine, including UAH 6.2 billion in 2024," the company said.
Notably, Vodafone Ukraine restored over 1,000 damaged base stations and deployed 7,252 LTE base stations to expand network coverage and capacity.
Another major investment area is the construction of fixed broadband networks using modern GPON technology (fiber-optic home internet that remains functional even during power outages). In 2024, the service became available to more than 1.2 million households. Overall, the company's fixed-line network – across all technologies – covers 1.8 million households. New service areas are being actively built in the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Lviv, Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Poltava, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Lutsk, Rivne, and Ternopil.
A portion of the company's investments – UAH 989 million – was allocated to acquiring new radio frequencies to expand its LTE network. Vodafone acquired spectrum in the 2100 MHz and 2600 MHz bands through an auction held by the National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications, Radiofrequency Spectrum and the Provision of Postal Services (NCEC).
"Using LTE at 2100 MHz will ensure a more stable 4G signal and increase network capacity by up to 30%. Frequency aggregation between 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz will significantly improve internet speeds. The use of the 2600 MHz TDD band will reduce the load on high-traffic areas by 50% and increase average internet speeds by 1.5 times, which is especially important given the constant growth in mobile data consumption," the company explained.
Vodafone Ukraine continues to develop new technological services. The company has developed its own AI model to serve as a supervisor in contact centers, effectively acting as a virtual assistant for call center operators. In the future, Vodafone plans to offer its AI solutions to other businesses, aiming not only to recoup its investment but also to become a leader in AI technology in Ukraine.
The company also expanded its Internet of Things (IoT) offerings in 2024, connecting several new corporate clients to its NB-IoT network. This technology provides reliable connectivity even in hard-to-reach locations such as basements or underground parking lots. Designed specifically for the Internet of Things, the network supports a large number of simultaneous connections, making it ideal for mass-scale deployment in both urban and industrial settings.
Vodafone Ukraine is the country's second-largest mobile operator, offering 4G high-speed internet, fixed-line services, and broadband. Between 2015 and 2024, the company invested UAH 48.5 billion in network infrastructure development.
Vodafone serves 15.8 million customers in Ukraine. Since December 2019, Vodafone Ukraine has been part of NEQSOL Holding.