Kyivstar boosts Q1 2026 EBITDA by 28.5% as revenue rises 31.3%
Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar increased EBITDA by 28.5% in the first quarter of 2026 to UAH 7.5 billion, while revenue grew by 31.3% to UAH 13.9 billion, according to the company’s quarterly report published on Wednesday.
"We continue to strengthen our long-term market leadership through the successful integration of Uklon and Tabletki, pioneering Starlink connectivity, and investments in our network and energy independence," the report quoted Kyivstar CEO and President Oleksandr Komarov as saying.
He said that, given the current momentum, the company had raised its financial guidance for 2026 and now expects hryvnia revenue growth of 18%-21% (previously 15-18%) and EBITDA growth of 14-17% (previously 12%-15%).
In U.S. dollar terms, Kyivstar now estimates revenue growth this year at 11-14% (previously 8-11%) and EBITDA growth at 7-10% (previously 5-8%). In the first quarter, dollar-denominated revenue rose by 26.6% to $323 million, while EBITDA increased by 23.5% to $173 million.
The company’s net profit for January-March this year surged by 93.2% in dollar terms to $85 million (up 99.1% in hryvnia terms), while earnings per share reached $0.37.
Revenue from digital platforms in January-March 2026 increased nearly 3.6-fold to $67 million (3.7-fold in hryvnia terms to UAH 2.9 billion), while the digital business contributed $29 million to EBITDA.
The number of multiplay customers at Kyivstar increased by 31.6% in the first quarter of 2026 to 8.1 million, accounting for 39.6% of the company’s total monthly active mobile customer base.
Kyivstar’s total customer base declined by 3% in the first quarter of 2026 to 22 million. At the same time, the number of broadband subscribers rose to 1.2 million, supported by the integration of approximately 52,000 customers following the successful acquisition of internet provider Shtorm.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) in the first quarter of 2026 increased by 14.1% to $3.8 (up 18.4% in hryvnia terms to UAH 166.5).
Mobile MoU (average monthly minutes of use per subscriber) increased by 2.3% to 297 minutes.
The report also stated that the total number of digital monthly active users increased during the quarter from 20.8 million to 28.4 million. Specifically, Uklon and Tabletki recorded 5.1 million and 6.3 million users respectively, Helsi increased from 4.8 million to 4.9 million, Kyivstar TV from 3.1 million to 3.4 million, and MyKyivstar from 7.8 million to 8.7 million.
Online taxi service Uklon, which was consolidated into Kyivstar’s reporting in April 2025, generated revenue of UAH 1.425 billion, or $32.9 million, in the first quarter of 2026. Its EBITDA amounted to UAH 538.9 million, or $12.4 million. The number of rides during the first quarter of 2026 totaled 43.7 million, while deliveries reached 1.5 million.
The report noted that the Helsi medical information system had 87,000 paid-model subscribers as of the end of the first quarter of 2026, compared to 57,000 at the end of 2025. Its revenue totaled UAH 93 million versus UAH 68 million in the first quarter of 2025. Service users have access to 1,700 public and private clinics and nearly 41,000 healthcare professionals.
Tabletki.ua generated revenue of UAH 233.9 million, or $5.3 million, in February-March 2026. EBITDA totaled UAH 195.8 million, or $4.5 million, while the gross merchandise value (GMV) of orders placed through the platform reached UAH 11.2 billion, with the total number of orders climbing to 30.6 million.
Kyivstar TV increased the number of user sessions by 11.7% in the first quarter of 2026 to 931 million, while revenue reached UAH 453 million compared to UAH 89 million in the first quarter of 2025. "Performance was supported by a strong content offering, including the Kyivstar TV Originals crime drama series Silent Nava, which became the platform’s most popular title since launch and helped attract new customers," the report said.
Kyivstar.Tech generated another UAH 715 million in the first quarter of this year, compared to UAH 632 million in the same period last year, while the number of active contracts increased by 31% to 2,200. Growth was primarily driven by cloud services, which rose from UAH 105 million to UAH 192 million.
As a result, the share of digital business in Kyivstar’s total revenue increased to 20.9% from 7.4% in the first quarter of 2025.
Capital expenditures excluding license fees amounted to UAH 2.9 billion, or $67 million, equal to 20.9% of revenue, compared to $51 million in the first quarter of 2025. Capital expenditure intensity for 2026 is expected within the range of 21-24% of revenue (previously 23-26%).
At the end of the quarter, the company held $353 million in cash and cash equivalents against gross debt of $487 million, compared to $456 million and $478 million respectively at the beginning of the quarter. Free cash flow from operating activities totaled $161 million during the quarter, versus $128 million in the first quarter of 2025.
According to the report, the market capitalization of Nasdaq-listed Kyivstar Group stood at $3.214 billion as of May 11.
Kyivstar also recalled that the Group expanded its cooperation with SpaceX to include the resale of high-speed Starlink internet services for businesses. The number of customers already using Direct to Cell technology exceeded 5 million, while the launch of Light Data is scheduled for a later period in 2026.
During the reporting period, Ukrainians selected the name Siaivo for the national language model that Kyivstar is developing jointly with the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
As reported, Kyivstar increased EBITDA by 30% in 2025 to UAH 27 billion while revenue grew by 30.3% to UAH 48.2 billion. In the fourth quarter of last year alone, EBITDA increased by 23.1% to UAH 7.2 billion as revenue rose by 30.1% to UAH 13.5 billion.