And this 11% year-on-year growth in US dollars is equivalent to 44% year-on-year growth in local currency. We see higher usage levels. We see higher generation of revenues as we deploy these digital services. Crystallizing the value of our infrastructure is one of our priorities. So far, you have seen a couple of transactions which has allowed us to unlock value from our balance sheet. Beyond information and telecommunications infrastructure sales, we are also looking for our non-core business disposals in the countries that we operate. And especially for our digital assets from fintech to entertainment platforms, we are looking for strategic partners as we also consider public offerings of our operators in local and international markets. I would like to stop here and give the floor to Joop to give you a little bit more colors of our financial performance.
Joop?
Joop Brakenhoff: Thanks, Kaan. I’m pleased to present some of our key revenue milestones for the full year and the fourth quarter. This year marked yet another period of double-digit year-on-year growth in local currency revenues across all six of our markets. Total revenue in local currency increased by 18% year-on-year, with service revenue also rising by 18% year-on-year. Despite these strong growth figures, our reported service revenue in dollar terms showed a slight decrease of 1% year-on-year on a reported basis. This was largely due to local currency depreciation in several of our key markets, especially in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. The driving forces behind our revenue growth include gains in market share and the expansion of our digital platforms across all operations, coupled with the implementation of disciplined inflationary pricing strategies.
On the next page, I will elaborate on our EBITDA and EBITDA margin. In full year 2023, VEON experienced a 20% year-on-year increase in local currency normalized EBITDA, with our normalized EBITDA margin improving by 0.8 percentage points to 46.2%. It’s crucial to recognize that our EBITDA growth was influenced by extraordinary one-off events in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan throughout full year 2023. By making adjustments for these one-off occurrences, we gain a clearer view of VEON’s operational progress and profitability in local currency over the last 12 months, providing a more accurate measure of our financial health and efficiency. For the recent quarter, we have achieved substantial year-on-year growth in local currency revenues across our six markets, with total revenue growing 80% year-on-year, culminating in reported revenue of $953 million.
Our reported currency revenue has shown modest growth, with a 1% rise year-on-year. As mentioned prior, this figure was influenced by notable depreciation in local currencies within our markets, mostly significant in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. The surge in revenue is attributable to an increase in our market share and the broadening of our digital platforms throughout all operations, in conjunction with the implementation of methodological inflation adjusted pricing strategies. On a quarterly basis, VEON’s local currency normalized EBITDA increased [25%] (ph) year-on-year, complemented by a notable rise in our EBITDA margin of 2.5 percentage points to 44.4%. However, it’s crucial to acknowledge that our EBITDA growth has been influenced by extraordinary one-time events, as mentioned.
Once these one-time factors are accounted for, the fourth quarter of 2023 reveals strong cost management and the positive impact of operating leverage. These elements have been pivotal in creating a fundamentally higher margin profile for VEON consistently over the last year. Shifting focus to key balance sheet figures, I will now detail out our debt and liquidity status. As we close Q4, the group maintains a strong liquidity position, evidenced by a total cash reserve of $1.7 billion, which excludes our banking activities in Pakistan. Of this amount, a substantial $1.3 billion is held at our headquarters. At the operating level, each of VEON’s entities remains self-sustaining in terms of financing. In a strategic move this September, VEON undertook the complete and advanced redemption of notes, set to mature in December 2023 and June 2024.
This proactive measure has led to a significant decrease in our report that shows their figures. As Kaan mentioned, we can also now share that we have secured BB-minus credit ratings from both Fitch and S&P. As many of you are aware, we exited Russia in October 2023. As a result, the month and a quarter were marked by several transactions that materially influenced the group’s financial position. As a result of the exit, our gross debt has substantially decreased and now stands at $3.7 billion from $6.7 billion from nearly a year ago. Similarly, our net debt and net leverage ratio has significantly improved, going from a net leverage ratio of 2.36 times a year ago to 1.42 times. Let me now speak about the accounting impact of our exit from Russia.
As a result of our exit, we will incur a non-cash cumulative currency translation loss of $2.8 billion, which accumulated in equity through other comprehensive income and are recycled through the consolidated income statement on the date of the disposal, as mentioned, a non-cash and no impact on equity. Despite this, it is important to recognize that our continued operations have reported a profit of $384 million for full year 2023, which translates to a price to earnings ratio at VEON 4.6 times. In other words, our continued operations are profitably growing. Our overall equity for VEON is projected to rise by $300 million for full year 2023. Taking into account the significant events and on a pro forma basis, VEON’s net debt stands at $2 billion, a marked decrease from the $5.1 billion net debt report 12 months ago.
