Ukraine's Kyivstar lifts outlook as digital business gathers pace

Nov 6 : Ukraine's largest telecom operator Kyivstar raised its yearly revenue guidance on Friday, citing strong demand for mobile services and its fast-growing digital services business, as the company prepares for 2027 without forecasting an end to the conflict.

The Nasdaq-listed operator now expects its revenue to rise between 15 per cent and 17 per cent in US dollar terms this year, up from 14 per cent to 16 per cent previously. Third-quarter revenue grew 17.5 per cent to $349 million, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 10.3 per cent to $189 million.

CEO Oleksandr Komarov told Reuters that Kyivstar's infrastructure was directly hit in recent Russian attacks, but there was no disruption to services as its mitigation and emergency measures kicked in.

He said the biggest change in Kyivstar's network was the shutdown of its 3G service, a process that took almost three years. More than 70 per cent of its data customers are now on the newer network.

Digital services revenue jumped 68.9 per cent to $76 million in the quarter, now 21.7 per cent of the group total, and the business posted an EBITDA margin of 40.7 per cent. Komarov said the margin slipped slightly mainly due to investment in the modern mobility unit, including the Uklon ride-hailing service which is expanding into delivery and travel.

"We did not factor the end of the war in our 2027 forecast," Komarov said in the interview, noting that Kyivstar tended to be quite conservative in its forecasts. He added the company did not expect the war to end in the "nearest future". It did not publish the outlook for next year yet.

Asked about Kyivstar's first year on Nasdaq, Komarov said he considered it to have been very successful, even if the stock's valuation was “very much driven by the risk appetite rather than the results”.