Lifecell has announced its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter of 2023 and the full year. Last year turned out to be a successful one for the company, which managed to increase its revenue and active subscriber base.
In 2023, lifecell’s revenue increased by 24.4% year-on-year to UAH 11.7 billion (compared to UAH 9.4 billion in 2022). In the fourth quarter of 2023, the operator’s revenue increased by 20.5% to UAH 3.1 billion (compared to UAH 2.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022). This increase in revenue was mainly driven by an increase in ARPU (average revenue per user) and higher consumption of data services.
Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) increased by 25% year-on-year to UAH 6.8 billion (UAH 5.4 billion in 2022). In the fourth quarter of 2023, adjusted EBITDA increased by 22.2% year-on-year to UAH 1.8 billion (vs. UAH 1.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022). At the same time, in 2023, the adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 0.2 points to 58.1%. In the fourth quarter of 2023, this figure increased by 0.8 points to 58.6%.
Over the year, lifecell’s capital investments increased by 39.9% to UAH 4.2 billion compared to UAH 3.0 billion in 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2023, this figure increased by 17.4% to UAH 1.2 billion (compared to UAH 997.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2022).
In 2023, lifecell earned a profit of UAH 2.6 billion compared to a profit of UAH 972.3 million in 2022. At the same time, in the fourth quarter of 2023, the company’s profit increased by 116.5% to UAH 885.1 million (compared to UAH 408.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2022).
In 2023, the active 3-month subscriber base grew by 16.5% to 9.9 million compared to 8.5 million in 2022. The 3-month active ARPU grew by 21.2% in 2023 to UAH 110.9 compared to UAH 91.5 in 2022. At the same time, the 12-month active MOU (average minutes) decreased by 18.5% in 2023 and by 14.9% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The smartphone penetration rate in lifecell’s network reached 73.9% at the end of 2023.