Kyivstar posts 23.5% EBITDA growth in Q2 2025, boosts investment nearly 73%
Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile network operator, increased its EBITDA by 23.5% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2025 to UAH 6.90 billion, while its revenue rose by 25.8% to UAH 11.86 billion, driven by significant growth in its telecommunications and digital technology segments.
"EBITDA grew 23.5% YoY in 2Q25, with the EBITDA margin at 58.2% (-1.1 p.p. YoY), reflecting a higher share of direct digital revenue following the Uklon consolidation. The second quarter experienced cost pressures including increases in utilities, consulting, and IT support expenses," parent company VEON said in its earnings report released Thursday.
For the first half of 2025 overall, Kyivstar's EBITDA jumped 39.5% to UAH 12.85 billion, while revenue increased 36.1% to UAH 22.58 billion.
The report also noted that Kyivstar ramped up its capital investments by 72.8% year-over-year in Q2 2025, reaching UAH 3.93 billion. For the six-month period, capex grew 89.8% to UAH 6.35 billion.
"Capex in 2Q25 at $ 94.7 million represents capex intensity of 33.2% in 2Q25 and 28.2% in 1H25, underscoring Kyivstar’s accelerated reinvestment in existing business to maintain technological leadership amid the ongoing war," VEON said.
In dollar terms, Kyivstar's Q2 EBITDA rose 18.6% to $166 million, and revenue climbed 20.8% to $286 million. For the first half of the year, EBITDA grew by 31.5% to $309 million, while revenue increased 27.9% to $542 million.
The company's total mobile subscriber base shrank 4.5% year-over-year to 22.4 million, reflecting continued customer migration driven by the conflict. However, the decline in the 4G user base was less severe – just 1.2% to 14.4 million. Meanwhile, the number of bundled service users surged 23.7% to 6.5 million, accounting for 31.7% of all subscribers, amid sustained high demand for service bundles.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) increased by 20.6% year-over-year to UAH 146.
Kyivstar also reported a 20.3% rise in data usage per user in Q2 to 12.6 GB, while the number of digital users grew by 51.2% year-over-year to 13.4 million.
Among its subsidiaries, the company highlighted that the number of users on its medical information system Helsi reached 2.5 million as of June 2025 – a 15.8% increase compared to Q2 2024. New subscription models and B2B segment development also showed continued growth.
The user base of Kyivstar TV rose 21.7% year-over-year to 2 million by the end of Q2 2025. The company attributed this positive momentum to the launch of an Xbox app, expansion of Ukrainian-language content, and exclusive sports broadcasts.
Uklon, which was consolidated into Kyivstar's financials in April 2025, contributed $21.7 million in revenue and $9.3 million in EBITDA in Q2. The platform facilitated 41.2 million rides and 1.1 million deliveries during the quarter. The company said this integration marked a strategic move to expand its footprint in the digital services market.
Other notable Q2 developments included a memorandum signed with the Ministry of Digital Transformation to co-develop Ukraine's first Ukrainian language large language model (LLM). The project is slated for completion by year-end and aims to deliver secure digital services using localized data.
Kyivstar also received approval to conduct pilot tests of Direct-to-Cell satellite technology, which the company intends to use to provide mobile connectivity in areas without traditional ground-based coverage, particularly in hard-to-reach mountainous and rural regions.