Kyivstar Group completed the third quarter of 2026 with a net profit of $99 million, versus a loss of $89 million in the same period last year. The company increased revenue, significantly boosted income from digital services, and raised its financial forecast for the full year 2026.

This is evidenced by the financial results of Kyivstar Group Ltd., published on November 6.

Total group revenue in July-September was $349 million, up 17.5% year-over-year from the same period of 2025. In hryvnia terms, revenue reached 15.6 billion UAH, an increase of 26.5% year-on-year.

EBITDA, which measures operating profitability before interest, taxes, and amortization, rose 10.3% to $189 million. In hryvnia, this indicator increased by 18.7%, to 8.4 billion UAH.

EBITDA margin for the quarter was 54%.

Group net profit reached $99 million, whereas in the third quarter of 2025 the company reported a net loss of $89 million. Diluted earnings per share were $0.36.

At the same time, the company notes that last year's result was significantly impacted by one-time non-cash expenses of $162 million related to Kyivstar's listing on the U.S. Nasdaq stock exchange. Therefore, the comparison of net profit between the two periods reflects not only changes in operating activities but also the impact of this one-off item.

Digital services became one of the main growth drivers

The group's digital segment developed most dynamically. Its revenue grew 68.9% in U.S. dollar terms to $76 million. In hryvnia terms, growth was 81.8%.

The share of digital services in Kyivstar's total revenue reached 21.7%. Meanwhile, this segment's EBITDA increased by 74.2% to $31 million, with a margin of 40.7%.

The number of active users of digital services grew by 48.2% during the quarter to 29.5 million. This figure covers the group's digital ecosystem, including the Tabletki.ua platform, whose results have been consolidated since February 2026.

The company also reported the expansion of Uklon service, which began operating in four more Ukrainian cities and five cities in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan.

In addition, Kyivstar is developing corporate cloud services. In October, the group announced a deal to acquire Ukrainian company GigaCloud.

Mobile communications remain the core business

Revenue of the telecommunications and infrastructure segment in the third quarter was $273 million. This is 8.4% higher in dollar terms and 16.7% higher in hryvnia terms than a year earlier.

The main growth drivers were higher average revenue per mobile subscriber and increased usage of mobile internet.

Specifically, average monthly revenue per mobile subscriber (ARPU) grew 16.9% to 178.9 UAH. In dollar terms, the metric increased 8.6% to $4.

Mobile internet usage volumes grew 20%, and 4G penetration reached 71.5%, up 4.9 percentage points year-on-year.

The number of fixed broadband internet subscribers increased 11.3% to approximately 1.3 million.

To expand this segment, Kyivstar entered into an Open Access agreement with Ukrtelecom, which provides for mutual use of the operators' fiber optic networks. Cooperation begins in three regions.

Meanwhile, the EBITDA margin of the telecommunications and infrastructure segment decreased by 3.1 percentage points to 57.7%. The company attributed this to rising electricity costs.

Despite additional expenses, EBITDA of this segment increased by 2.9% to $158 million.

Investments declined, while cash flow increased

The group's capital expenditures in the third quarter were $66 million, down 25.6% compared to the same period of 2025.

Capital expenditure intensity over the last 12 months decreased from 29% to 24%. This metric reflects the ratio of capital expenditures to company revenues.

Meanwhile, free cash flow for the quarter reached $83 million, up from $34 million a year earlier.

For the nine months of 2026, free cash flow was $274 million, an increase of 56.8% in U.S. dollar terms.

As of September 30, cash and cash equivalents on the group's balance sheet were $436 million. Net liquidity excluding lease liabilities was $350 million, while net debt including leases was $66 million.

Kyivstar raised its financial forecast for 2026

Against the backdrop of third-quarter results, the company revised its expectations for full-year financial performance.

Kyivstar now forecasts revenue growth in 2026 of 15-17% in U.S. dollar terms, up from the previously expected 14-16%. In hryvnia, the forecast was raised from 21-23% to 22-24%.

The expected EBITDA growth was also revised: to 10-12% in dollars, compared with the previous range of 9-12%. In hryvnia, the company forecasts an increase of 18-20%, up from 17-19%.

The capital expenditure intensity forecast remained unchanged at 21-24%.

Kyivstar President Oleksandr Komarov noted that expanding the digital ecosystem increases customer engagement and creates additional revenue streams. According to him, cash flow growth provides a financial foundation for further business development and maintaining network operations in challenging conditions.

Kyivstar Group Ltd. unites telecommunications business and digital services, including mobile and fixed-line communications, online services, healthcare platforms, and mobility services. The group's shares trade on the U.S. Nasdaq stock exchange.

Based on materials: Kyivstar Group Ltd.