{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"6013","rtpr_id":"nGNE1j4mmC","ticker":"VEON","exchange":"NASDAQ","all_tickers":["VEON"],"title":"VEON 2025 Integrated Annual Report: Record Digital Growth, Sovereign AI and Kyivstar Listing Define a Transformative Year","author":"Globe Newswire","published_at":"2026-04-23T08:01:00.076Z","article_body":"Dubai and New York, April 23, 2026: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital\noperator (“VEON” or the “Company”, and together with its subsidiaries\nthe “Group”), today announces the publication of its 2025 Integrated\nAnnual Report (“IAR 2025”), showcasing a defining year of digital and\nfinancial performance and continued progress in strengthening the Group’s\nEnvironmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) program.\n\nThe IAR 2025 provides stakeholders with an overview of VEON’s operational,\nfinancial, and strategic performance during the 2025 reporting period, as well\nas key developments in governance and sustainability.\n\n“In 2025, VEON crossed a threshold we have been building toward for years:\nfor the first time we had more users of our digital services than for\nconnectivity alone. That milestone demonstrates that we are not augmenting a\ntelco; we are building a digital operator whose growth is measured in the\nvalue that we add to people's lives,” said Kaan Terzioğlu, Chief Executive\nOfficer of VEON. “We advanced a series of strategic initiatives that\nstrengthened our portfolio and sharpened our focus. From the successful\nlisting of Kyivstar on Nasdaq to expanding into new digital service verticals\nand bringing satellite connectivity to our markets, these actions reinforced\nour evolution into a more agile, high-growth consumer and enterprise services\ncompany.”\n\nA milestone in digital growth\n\nIn 2025, VEON delivered robust financial results underpinned by strong digital\nmomentum. Group revenues increased by 9.9% year‑on‑year to USD 4,399\nmillion, while EBITDA rose by 18.8% to USD 2,009 million, reflecting\ndisciplined cost management and continued digital monetization. Local currency\nrevenues grew by 14.2%, and local‑currency EBITDA increased by 24.2%,\ndemonstrating the underlying strength of VEON’s frontier‑market\noperations.\n\nVEON reached a milestone in the fourth quarter of 2025, with digital service\ncustomers exceeding connectivity users for the first time, reaching 205.8\nmillion 3-month active users compared to 150.2 million connectivity customers.\nFor the full year, direct digital revenues increased by 62.5%\nyear‑on‑year, accounting for 17.3% of total Group revenues, and reaching\n20.1% of total revenues in 4Q25.\n\nThis growth reflects increasing adoption of VEON’s digital services across\nkey verticals and their growing role in enabling a better life for all and\ndigital growth for our markets. At the same time, VEON became a pioneer in\ntaking resilient connectivity to the next level in its markets, integrating\nsatellite-powered connectivity into customer experience through its\npartnership with Starlink.\n\nAdvancing augmented intelligence\n\nGuided by VEON’s AI1440 ambition of augmenting human capabilities every\nminute of every day, VEON’s digital operators deployed AI‑enabled\nsolutions across consumer services enterprise platforms, and operations.\nBeeline Kazakhstan’s AI Tutor launch in mid-2025 brought Kaz-LLM to life for\nusers in  Kazakhstan, while in Ukraine, Kyivstar partnered with the Ministry\nof Digital Transformation to develop Ukrainian LLM. VEON initiated\npartnerships to accelerate the development of sovereign AI across its markets.\n\nStrengthening environmental, social, and governance foundations\n\n2025 represented an important step in formalizing VEON’s ESG approach. In\nthe fourth quarter of the year, the Group approved its first Group‑wide ESG\nPolicy and three‑year ESG Strategy, establishing a structured framework for\nmanaging environmental, social, and governance priorities across operations.\nGovernance oversight was further strengthened through the integration of ESG\nconsiderations into the Group’s Enterprise Risk Management framework. The\nestablishment of a Compliance Centre of Excellence and enhancements to\nthird‑party due diligence, conflict‑of‑interest management, and Speak Up\nmechanisms supported a consistent and accountable governance environment\nacross markets.\n\nImproving energy efficiency\n\nVEON continued to improve energy efficiency and expand the use of renewable\nenergy across its operations. The number of base transceiver stations equipped\nwith solar and/or wind technology increased from 1,085 in 2024 to 1,906 in\n2025. In Ukraine, Kyivstar acquired a 12.9 MW solar power plant, contributing\nto local renewable energy generation. Banglalink commissioned Bangladesh’s\nfirst solar‑powered mobile operator data center, while Beeline Kazakhstan\nexpanded off‑grid connectivity to remote communities using hybrid renewable\nsolutions.\n\nKyivstar: First Ukrainian Investment Opportunity on a U.S. Stock Market\n\nVEON and Kyivstar maintained their unwavering support for Ukraine in 2025.\nThis included investments in connectivity, energy resilience, and digital\nservices, such as the acquisition of Uklon, Ukraine’s top ride-hailing\nplatform, and the February 2026 acquisition of Tabletki.ua, Ukraine’s\nleading online healthcare price comparison platform. In 2025, Kyivstar also\nlaunched Starlink Direct‑to‑Cell services nationwide in Ukraine, the first\nmobile operator in Europe to do so. This enabled Kyivstar customers in Ukraine\nto stay connected with messaging services on regular 4G smartphones even at\ntimes when the terrestrial network is unavailable.\n\nKyivstar began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) on August\n15(th), 2025 becoming the first Ukrainian investment opportunity listed on a\nU.S. stock exchange. VEON also launched its “Invest in Ukraine NOW!”\nbusiness symposium series in New York, bringing together business, investor,\nand government leaders to support Ukraine’s long‑term recovery and\ndevelopment. \n\nStrengthening governance and creating shareholder value\n\nDuring 2025, VEON continued to streamline its corporate structure and enhance\nshareholder value. The VEON board of directors (the “Board”) authorized a\nshare buyback program of up to USD 100 million, reflecting confidence in the\nGroup’s financial position and outlook, and in early 2026 the Company\nadopted a capital allocation policy targeting the return of at least USD 100\nmillion to shareholders annually through repurchases, subject to market\nconditions and Board approval, further reinforcing its commitment to\ndelivering consistent and measurable shareholder returns. Portfolio actions,\nincluding the Deodar tower transaction in Pakistan and the exit from\nKyrgyzstan, enabled greater focus on high‑growth frontier markets. Operating\nfrom its headquarters in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), VEON\nis the largest Nasdaq‑listed company headquartered in Dubai.\n\nWorkplace diversity and inclusion\n\nVEON continued to invest in its workforce and employee development. Spending\non employee training and development increased to USD 5.4 million, compared\nwith USD 4.4 million in 2024 and USD 2.6 million in 2023, reflecting a\nsustained focus on building skills and capabilities across the organization.\nAn independent DE&I maturity assessment found VEON to be performing above\nindustry benchmarks in workplace diversity and product inclusivity, supporting\nan inclusive and high‑performing work environment.\n\nA PDF version of the 2025 Integrated Annual Report is available to download\nhere\n(https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=DxWTiDVqvGOTKy4smbZwTaeXsRs47eabEJ4lz54PmS2D1Q30WnyePLWTnEoICfnI66d973DwdiU8823lS44iDl20e0jq1yWK0eIGgD9ycSF6apfC4v60Q71wsmLDJM0s_KMPFKR1JXZkceJgJFbunh3cRIxfMpp5Kun7kFOmzVxDpu4o6D-bbToC41ordIV37TA94vNQ3UcdLtdv6JgS8BwURWIKXE5QaWXmUnGAofyeOd8iOYJQf7DOZ5zUrbB_5fEcjv60vYvlKlB_se7sLosH6L1vduCZ7gUlTENpuREx6TtCtql0DYKjoFg5cPRNdtXTaKFz9gT9-n5nWVt6eg==).\n\nAn interactive version of the report will be available here:\nhttps://www.veon.com/integrated-annual-report-2025/\n\nAbout VEON\n\nVEON is a digital operator that provides connectivity and digital services\nover 150 million connectivity and more than 205 million digital users.\nOperating across five countries that are home to more than 6% of the world’s\npopulation, VEON is transforming lives through technology-driven services that\nempower individuals and drive economic growth. VEON is listed on NASDAQ. For\nmore information, visit: https://www.veon.com.\n\nDisclaimer\n\nThis document contains “forward-looking statements,” as the phrase is\ndefined in Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and\nSection 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such\nforward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements\nrelating to VEON’s future operating results, targets, or financial\npositions. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are\ninherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which VEON cannot\npredict with accuracy and some of which VEON might not anticipate. All\nstatements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of\nhistorical fact should be considered forward-looking statements. There are\nnumerous risks, uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance\nto differ materially from those expressed by such statements, such as those\ndiscussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in VEON’s 2025 Form\n20-F filed with the SEC on March 16, 2026 and other public filings made by\nVEON with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this release\nspeak only as of the date of this release. VEON does not undertake to publicly\nupdate, except as required by U.S. federal securities laws, any\nforward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after such dates\nor to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. See “Report\ndisclaimer” in the 2025 Integrated Annual Report our for a more fulsome\ndescription of the above.\n\nContact Information\n\nRussell James   \nGroup Director ICRM and ESG\nesg@veon.com\n\nHande Asik         \nChief Communications and Strategy Officer\npr@veon.com","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nGNE1j4mmC","title":"VEON 2025 Integrated Annual Report: Record Digital Growth, Sovereign AI and Kyivstar Listing Define a Transformative Year","author":"Globe Newswire","ticker":"VEON","created":"2026-04-23T08:01:00.076Z","tickers":["VEON"],"exchange":"NASDAQ","article_body":"Dubai and New York, April 23, 2026: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital\noperator (“VEON” or the “Company”, and together with its subsidiaries\nthe “Group”), today announces the publication of its 2025 Integrated\nAnnual Report (“IAR 2025”), showcasing a defining year of digital and\nfinancial performance and continued progress in strengthening the Group’s\nEnvironmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) program.\n\nThe IAR 2025 provides stakeholders with an overview of VEON’s operational,\nfinancial, and strategic performance during the 2025 reporting period, as well\nas key developments in governance and sustainability.\n\n“In 2025, VEON crossed a threshold we have been building toward for years:\nfor the first time we had more users of our digital services than for\nconnectivity alone. That milestone demonstrates that we are not augmenting a\ntelco; we are building a digital operator whose growth is measured in the\nvalue that we add to people's lives,” said Kaan Terzioğlu, Chief Executive\nOfficer of VEON. “We advanced a series of strategic initiatives that\nstrengthened our portfolio and sharpened our focus. From the successful\nlisting of Kyivstar on Nasdaq to expanding into new digital service verticals\nand bringing satellite connectivity to our markets, these actions reinforced\nour evolution into a more agile, high-growth consumer and enterprise services\ncompany.”\n\nA milestone in digital growth\n\nIn 2025, VEON delivered robust financial results underpinned by strong digital\nmomentum. Group revenues increased by 9.9% year‑on‑year to USD 4,399\nmillion, while EBITDA rose by 18.8% to USD 2,009 million, reflecting\ndisciplined cost management and continued digital monetization. Local currency\nrevenues grew by 14.2%, and local‑currency EBITDA increased by 24.2%,\ndemonstrating the underlying strength of VEON’s frontier‑market\noperations.\n\nVEON reached a milestone in the fourth quarter of 2025, with digital service\ncustomers exceeding connectivity users for the first time, reaching 205.8\nmillion 3-month active users compared to 150.2 million connectivity customers.\nFor the full year, direct digital revenues increased by 62.5%\nyear‑on‑year, accounting for 17.3% of total Group revenues, and reaching\n20.1% of total revenues in 4Q25.\n\nThis growth reflects increasing adoption of VEON’s digital services across\nkey verticals and their growing role in enabling a better life for all and\ndigital growth for our markets. At the same time, VEON became a pioneer in\ntaking resilient connectivity to the next level in its markets, integrating\nsatellite-powered connectivity into customer experience through its\npartnership with Starlink.\n\nAdvancing augmented intelligence\n\nGuided by VEON’s AI1440 ambition of augmenting human capabilities every\nminute of every day, VEON’s digital operators deployed AI‑enabled\nsolutions across consumer services enterprise platforms, and operations.\nBeeline Kazakhstan’s AI Tutor launch in mid-2025 brought Kaz-LLM to life for\nusers in  Kazakhstan, while in Ukraine, Kyivstar partnered with the Ministry\nof Digital Transformation to develop Ukrainian LLM. VEON initiated\npartnerships to accelerate the development of sovereign AI across its markets.\n\nStrengthening environmental, social, and governance foundations\n\n2025 represented an important step in formalizing VEON’s ESG approach. In\nthe fourth quarter of the year, the Group approved its first Group‑wide ESG\nPolicy and three‑year ESG Strategy, establishing a structured framework for\nmanaging environmental, social, and governance priorities across operations.\nGovernance oversight was further strengthened through the integration of ESG\nconsiderations into the Group’s Enterprise Risk Management framework. The\nestablishment of a Compliance Centre of Excellence and enhancements to\nthird‑party due diligence, conflict‑of‑interest management, and Speak Up\nmechanisms supported a consistent and accountable governance environment\nacross markets.\n\nImproving energy efficiency\n\nVEON continued to improve energy efficiency and expand the use of renewable\nenergy across its operations. The number of base transceiver stations equipped\nwith solar and/or wind technology increased from 1,085 in 2024 to 1,906 in\n2025. In Ukraine, Kyivstar acquired a 12.9 MW solar power plant, contributing\nto local renewable energy generation. Banglalink commissioned Bangladesh’s\nfirst solar‑powered mobile operator data center, while Beeline Kazakhstan\nexpanded off‑grid connectivity to remote communities using hybrid renewable\nsolutions.\n\nKyivstar: First Ukrainian Investment Opportunity on a U.S. Stock Market\n\nVEON and Kyivstar maintained their unwavering support for Ukraine in 2025.\nThis included investments in connectivity, energy resilience, and digital\nservices, such as the acquisition of Uklon, Ukraine’s top ride-hailing\nplatform, and the February 2026 acquisition of Tabletki.ua, Ukraine’s\nleading online healthcare price comparison platform. In 2025, Kyivstar also\nlaunched Starlink Direct‑to‑Cell services nationwide in Ukraine, the first\nmobile operator in Europe to do so. This enabled Kyivstar customers in Ukraine\nto stay connected with messaging services on regular 4G smartphones even at\ntimes when the terrestrial network is unavailable.\n\nKyivstar began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) on August\n15(th), 2025 becoming the first Ukrainian investment opportunity listed on a\nU.S. stock exchange. VEON also launched its “Invest in Ukraine NOW!”\nbusiness symposium series in New York, bringing together business, investor,\nand government leaders to support Ukraine’s long‑term recovery and\ndevelopment. \n\nStrengthening governance and creating shareholder value\n\nDuring 2025, VEON continued to streamline its corporate structure and enhance\nshareholder value. The VEON board of directors (the “Board”) authorized a\nshare buyback program of up to USD 100 million, reflecting confidence in the\nGroup’s financial position and outlook, and in early 2026 the Company\nadopted a capital allocation policy targeting the return of at least USD 100\nmillion to shareholders annually through repurchases, subject to market\nconditions and Board approval, further reinforcing its commitment to\ndelivering consistent and measurable shareholder returns. Portfolio actions,\nincluding the Deodar tower transaction in Pakistan and the exit from\nKyrgyzstan, enabled greater focus on high‑growth frontier markets. Operating\nfrom its headquarters in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), VEON\nis the largest Nasdaq‑listed company headquartered in Dubai.\n\nWorkplace diversity and inclusion\n\nVEON continued to invest in its workforce and employee development. Spending\non employee training and development increased to USD 5.4 million, compared\nwith USD 4.4 million in 2024 and USD 2.6 million in 2023, reflecting a\nsustained focus on building skills and capabilities across the organization.\nAn independent DE&I maturity assessment found VEON to be performing above\nindustry benchmarks in workplace diversity and product inclusivity, supporting\nan inclusive and high‑performing work environment.\n\nA PDF version of the 2025 Integrated Annual Report is available to download\nhere\n(https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=DxWTiDVqvGOTKy4smbZwTaeXsRs47eabEJ4lz54PmS2D1Q30WnyePLWTnEoICfnI66d973DwdiU8823lS44iDl20e0jq1yWK0eIGgD9ycSF6apfC4v60Q71wsmLDJM0s_KMPFKR1JXZkceJgJFbunh3cRIxfMpp5Kun7kFOmzVxDpu4o6D-bbToC41ordIV37TA94vNQ3UcdLtdv6JgS8BwURWIKXE5QaWXmUnGAofyeOd8iOYJQf7DOZ5zUrbB_5fEcjv60vYvlKlB_se7sLosH6L1vduCZ7gUlTENpuREx6TtCtql0DYKjoFg5cPRNdtXTaKFz9gT9-n5nWVt6eg==).\n\nAn interactive version of the report will be available here:\nhttps://www.veon.com/integrated-annual-report-2025/\n\nAbout VEON\n\nVEON is a digital operator that provides connectivity and digital services\nover 150 million connectivity and more than 205 million digital users.\nOperating across five countries that are home to more than 6% of the world’s\npopulation, VEON is transforming lives through technology-driven services that\nempower individuals and drive economic growth. VEON is listed on NASDAQ. For\nmore information, visit: https://www.veon.com.\n\nDisclaimer\n\nThis document contains “forward-looking statements,” as the phrase is\ndefined in Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and\nSection 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such\nforward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements\nrelating to VEON’s future operating results, targets, or financial\npositions. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are\ninherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which VEON cannot\npredict with accuracy and some of which VEON might not anticipate. All\nstatements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of\nhistorical fact should be considered forward-looking statements. There are\nnumerous risks, uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance\nto differ materially from those expressed by such statements, such as those\ndiscussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in VEON’s 2025 Form\n20-F filed with the SEC on March 16, 2026 and other public filings made by\nVEON with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this release\nspeak only as of the date of this release. VEON does not undertake to publicly\nupdate, except as required by U.S. federal securities laws, any\nforward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after such dates\nor to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. See “Report\ndisclaimer” in the 2025 Integrated Annual Report our for a more fulsome\ndescription of the above.\n\nContact Information\n\nRussell James   \nGroup Director ICRM and ESG\nesg@veon.com\n\nHande Asik         \nChief Communications and Strategy Officer\npr@veon.com"},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-04-23T08:01:00.164748067Z","server_sent_at_ms":1776931260164},"received_at":"2026-04-23T08:01:00.218Z","source_url":null},"analysis":null,"durationMs":null,"modelName":null}}