The company’s leadership is targeting a roughly 50/50 digital and telecom revenue mix within three years, backed by ongoing 4G/5G deployment in Pakistan and a disciplined approach to refinancing and debt management to keep leverage below 1.5x EBITDA, while seeing significant upside in Ukraine over the longer term.

Management reiterates a 50/50 digital versus telecom revenue goal in three years, emphasizes disciplined capital allocation, and remains bullish on Ukraine’s upside as regulatory alignment and digital demand grow.

The balance sheet improved to about $1.73 billion in cash and $1.75 billion in net debt, with leverage at 1.09x EBITDA, and the company plans at least $100 million in annual share buybacks with ongoing cancelation of repurchased shares.

An asset-light strategy includes selling the Pakistan tower portfolio and deconsolidating TNS+, enabling lower leverage, while launching direct-to-cell Starlink connectivity in Ukraine and Kazakhstan and planning expansion to Bangladesh in 2026.

VEON maintains its asset-light approach, highlighted by the Pakistan tower sale and TNS+ deconsolidation, plus Starlink direct-to-cell in Ukraine and Kazakhstan; Kyivstar is listed on NASDAQ with VEON’s stake valued around $2 billion.

Like-for-like revenue rose 11% for the year after portfolio changes, with Multiplay representing 56% of consumer revenues and delivering close to four times ARPU and lower churn compared with voice-only offerings.

Multiplay customers, combining connectivity and digital services, account for more than half of consumer revenues and exhibit substantially higher ARPU and reduced churn.

The group serves over 135 million active digital service users, with three-month active users exceeding 200 million and 33 million digital-only customers, while the ecosystem’s total transaction value reached $55 billion, up over 50% year over year.

Strategic themes focus on asset-light expansion, growth in digital services, and AI/augmented intelligence initiatives, including local language LLMs, with targeted acquisitions in digital, financial services, and insurance to broaden the ecosystem.

Pakistan secured 190 MHz of spectrum across four bands for $240 million to boost 4G quality and enable selective 5G; OLX Kazakhstan acquisition is pending regulatory approval with a target close in Q2; Enterprise BuildX in Uzbekistan involves about 2,000 engineers, alongside augmented intelligence with local language LLMs.

The 2026 outlook envisions revenue growth of 9%–12% and EBITDA growth of 7%–10%, with capex intensity (excluding Ukraine) expected to fall to 14%–16%, reinforcing a strategy centered on capital discipline, selective digital/financial/insurance acquisitions, and asset-light execution.

Management reaffirmed disciplined capital allocation, including annual buybacks of at least $100 million with cancelation of repurchased shares, and noted Kyivstar’s valuation around $2.4 billion with VEON’s stake near $2 billion.