Jazz, Pakistan’s leading digital operator, has reported an impressive 20.3% year-on-year (YoY) increase in total revenues for the first quarter of 2025, according to VEON Group’s latest financial results. This robust growth reflects the company’s accelerated pivot toward digital innovation and the rising demand for fintech services.
Digital revenues contributed 27.7% to Jazz’s total income in Q1 2025, marking a significant milestone in the company’s transformation strategy. Growth in core telecom and infrastructure services also remained solid, with a 12% YoY increase supported by a 16% surge in 4G users and a 14% rise in average revenue per user (ARPU). Jazz’s 4G user base expanded to 53.3 million, pushing penetration to 72.6%, up 8.6 percentage points compared to last year.
Fintech and Digital Platforms Lead the Charge
Jazz’s direct digital revenues soared by 49.5% YoY, led primarily by strong performance in its fintech verticals. JazzCash, the company’s flagship mobile wallet, posted a 66.1% YoY revenue increase, while Mobilink Microfinance Bank (MMBL) registered a 25.5% growth. JazzCash now has 20.6 million monthly active users (MAUs) and supports the issuance of approximately 142,000 digital loans daily. The platform’s Gross Transaction Value (GTV) rose to PKR 3.27 trillion, reflecting a remarkable 59.7% YoY growth.
Its retail network also expanded significantly, with nearly 341,000 active merchants (up 38.4% YoY) and close to 121,000 active agents now supporting JazzCash operations nationwide.
Entertainment & Lifestyle Apps See Strong User Growth
Jazz’s digital media arm also saw considerable momentum. Tamasha, Pakistan’s largest homegrown streaming platform, reached 16.5 million MAUs, marking a 37.6% YoY increase, boosted by exclusive coverage of major sporting events like the ICC World Cup, Pakistan Super League (PSL), and the English Premier League.
Similarly, Jazz’s sim-care and lifestyle app SIMOSA reported 20.9 million MAUs, up 40.2% YoY. The AI-powered FikrFree app, launched in late 2024 as an insurance and health marketplace, surpassed 1 million MAUs and facilitated over 1.8 million policy sales.
The number of multiplay customers—users subscribing to multiple Jazz services—also rose by 33.1% YoY, now representing 37% of the company’s total base. These customers generate over 3.2 times more ARPU than voice-only users, reinforcing the company’s strategic focus on bundled offerings.
Profitability and Capital Investment
Jazz’s EBITDA rose by 13.2% YoY, though the EBITDA margin slightly dipped to 42%, reflecting a greater contribution from lower-margin digital services. Nonetheless, the company continues to invest aggressively in its digital infrastructure, with capital expenditures totaling PKR 9.49 billion in Q1—an increase of 78.4% YoY. The capex intensity stood at 8.8%, underscoring Jazz’s commitment to expanding 4G coverage and digital innovation.
Meanwhile, regulatory processes for Jazz’s strategic partnership with Engro Corporation to manage infrastructure assets are also reportedly progressing.
VEON Group Highlights
Jazz’s parent company, VEON, also reported notable progress across its broader digital ecosystem. Beepul (Pakistan) saw revenues grow 2.6x YoY with 2.3 million MAUs, while Hambi (Uzbekistan) became the top-ranked app in the country with 4.3 million MAUs. Other emerging platforms include ROX (Pakistan, 700K MAUs), IZI (Kazakhstan, 590K MAUs), and OQ (Uzbekistan, 450K MAUs). In Bangladesh, Ryze, launched in November 2024, reached 100K MAUs by the end of March 2025.
Financial Stability
VEON’s net debt fell to USD 2.91 billion in Q1 2025, down from USD 2.93 billion in Q4 2024. Excluding leases, net debt stood at USD 1.81 billion, bringing the net debt/EBITDA ratio to 1.67x (or 1.23x without leases). These figures exclude USD 303 million linked to Jazz’s banking operations.
