Ukrtelecom sees revenue fall 8% in H1

MOSCOW. July 31 (Interfax) - Ukrtelecom, Ukraine's largest fixed telecom provider, saw its revenue drop 8% year-on-year to UAH2.3 billion in the first half of 2024, Ukrainian media reported the company as saying.

EBITDA fell 11.4% to UAH620 million, and the EBITDA margin dropped to 27% from 27.8% a year earlier.

Capital expenditures exceeded UAH585 million in the first half, Ukrtelecom said.

The company said it continues to operate, providing Internet access to 90% of the population centers covered by its network. The number of fiber optic Internet subscribers grew by 16% year-on-year to 371,200, driving 15.5% revenue growth in this segment.

As part of the replacement of copper infrastructure and development of modern fiber optic infrastructure with an FTTH/P network using GPON technology, Ukrtelecom said it laid 4,000 km of fiber optic cable in in the first half, almost two times more than in the same period of 2023.

Revenue from commercial leasing of real estate grew by 39% to UAH210 million.

The company's direct losses from lost equipment, telecom networks and other assets total about UAH700 million, according to preliminary estimates.

A large portion of Ukrtelecom's customers are government agencies, educational, administrative and healthcare institutions, and emergency services. The company's revenue fell 10% to UAH5 billion in 2023.

The official exchange rate was UAH41.05/$1 on July 30.