Datagroup's revenues increased by 18% in 2018. At the same time, EBITDA has increased by 24%. EBITDA margin continues to grow and reached a rate of 27.9%. Over 238 million UAH of taxes were transferred to the budgets of all levels. Capital investment in the development of the network amounted to over UAH 225 million.
Important factor for the company's development was a significant reduction of credit indebtedness in 2018. At present, the debt to banks is less than 1x EBITDA, although in 2016 it was at 2.8x EBITDA. "The achieved level of credit indebtedness gives us the opportunity to attract additional resources for the implementation of new projects and company development at the necessary moment", – commented Mykhaylo Shelemba.
Figures, market segments, details
Company’s revenue in the B2C segment has increased by 19%, in SMB - by 23%, in B2B - by 27%.
"The company has been a leader in the B2B segment for many years. We focus on flexibility in shaping an individual offer for the needs of the client, a combination of classical telecom services and VAS (value added services), as well as a high level of SLA for our customers" says Mykhaylo Shelemba.
The growth in the number of SMB subscribers in 2018 amounted to 9.3%. At the same time, the market grew by only 3-4% (by the number of clients) according to experts of the company. Income of the company in the segment shows a good growth (+23.2%). Sales of basic services (Internet, IP-telephony) has increased as well as sale of additional services, such as cloud services.
"In the B2C segment, we see the transition of customers to more expensive and high-speed tariff plans" said Mykhaylo Shelemba. For example, in 2016 about 40% of Datagroup's customers used low-speed tariff plans with a small subscription fee, and now there are only 5% of such customers. Such dynamics is reached due to the growth of consumption of entertaining content through the Internet: YouTube, social networks, OTT TV, etc. As a result: ARPU of Internet service in this segment has increased by 29% (2018 to 2017), which is far ahead of the market.
The foundation of growth
Datagroup continues large-scale transformation and rebranding. A new corporate identity has been developed and successfully implemented, the logo has been updated, and the transition to a single trademark Datagroup has been made for both individuals and legal entities. A new corporate site has been launched, which has become a universal communications channel for all audiences (B2C, SMB, B2B, C2C).
"If earlier it was a business card website, now it has become a sell-out site. For example, in the B2C segment, we have received a very good conversion of about 36%. We also began to receive applications from legal entities through the site. And this is only within six months" - commented Mykhaylo Shelemba.
In December 2018, Datagroup received the ISO 27001 certificate. "This is a significant achievement for the company. The obtained certificate confirms that the information security management system (ISMS) organized in the company meets all requirements of the international standard ISO / IEC 27001: 2013. In other words, Datagroup is part of a pool of the most information-protected companies in Ukraine, said Mykhaylo Shelemba. The certificate confirms compliance with the highest international standards in the following areas: information assets management for providing cloud services to clients, providing access to the Internet and communication channels, providing contact center services, developing and maintaining software. The company will continue to develop security as a service, and today Datagroup offers a variety of services for the security of both external and internal infrastructure.
atagroup continues to invest in new services and services. In 2016 the company began to implement cloud services and transferred all its employees (about 2000 people) to them. In 2018, the company introduced an electronic document flow system in the M.E.Doc system with its business subscribers. From now on, customers can significantly accelerate the process of exchanging information with the company and reduce the cost of delivery of printed copies. Datagroup is also a Microsoft Silver partner and provides a full suite of cloud services from this company. The company has invested about 10 million hryvnas in the best on the world market solutions for protecting online business from DDoS attacks.
Digitization of the country: a collaboration with a big business
Datagroup continues to collaborate with local governments in significant social projects, using its leadership in data transmission segments, international transit traffic and its status as the only company in Ukraine that provides communication in remote locations thanks to satellite technology. Among the most significant projects, "E-medicine" and "Safe city" deserve special attention.
In 2018, Datagroup started cooperation with the Association of Unified Territorial Communities for the purpose of introducing innovations in villages. According to the results of the year, Oleksandr Korinnyi, the Association's chairman, thanked the Datagroup representatives for their active participation in the development of local self-government in Ukraine and the creation of better living conditions in the communities thanks to the introduction of modern technologies.
Today, with the help of satellite Internet, 147 rural schools and 350 medical institutions in region are connected.
