Telecommunications company Veon announced Friday that its core profits jumped approximately 19% for the full year, powered by increased demand for digital services as the company prepares to bring its Starlink satellite partnership to Bangladesh.
The digital services operator reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $2 billion. Digital services revenue surged 62.5% over the year, now accounting for 17.3% of the company’s total income.
CEO Kaan Terzioglu explained to Reuters that operations in Ukraine demonstrated the limitations of ground-based networks, citing challenges from landmines blocking technician access to power outages shutting down cell towers, making satellite integration necessary.
Following Bangladesh, the technology will roll out to Uzbekistan and Pakistan, Terzioglu disclosed.
According to Terzioglu, Veon has become “the largest partner when it comes to the number of customers utilizing direct-to-cell technology of Starlink,” serving nearly 5 million users in Ukraine over four months with 7 million messages transmitted through the network.
In Pakistan, Veon’s Jazz division obtained 190 MHz during this week’s spectrum auction – the biggest single allocation – setting the stage for 5G network rollout.
Terzioglu commended Pakistan’s strategy to triple available spectrum while cutting costs, describing it as “a best practice the world needs to hear.”
While acknowledging he’s watching potential conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, he noted that lessons from Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic proved “when things get difficult, our services become more essential.”
The company’s total digital monthly active users climbed to 135.5 million, representing an 11.4% year-over-year increase.
Regarding future growth, Terzioglu said he’s “continuously monitoring” markets with populations exceeding 100 million that lack sufficient banking infrastructure, identifying them as natural expansion targets given Veon’s expertise in providing digital services through telecommunications networks.
Looking ahead to 2026, Veon projects revenue growth between 9%-12% and EBITDA growth of 7%-10%.
