Millicom, owner of Tigo-branded operations across Latin America and Africa, reported a 5.3 percent year on year decline in revenues to USD 1.03 billion in the final quarter of 2020, still impacted by Covid-19 but an improvement on falls of 6.5 percent and 8.0 percent in the previous two quarters. “The recovery that began in June gained momentum in the fourth quarter, and the important steps we took at the onset of the crisis provided us with ample flexibility to adjust our plans as business activity recovered in the second half of the year,” said Millicom CEO Mauricio Ramos after describing 2020 as one of the most challenging years in the company’s 30-year history.
In its main market of Latin America, Millicom’s fourth-quarter EBITDA turned positive at 1.0 percent on an organic basis, after rising USD 53 million sequentially to USD 634 million, reflecting higher service revenue and sustained cost control. However, the company posted a net loss of USD 56 million in the October to December period compared to a USD 223 million profit a year earlier, attributed in part to reduced commercial activity, higher spectrum-related costs and foreign exchange losses in Colombia.
Organic service revenue growth for the quarter was negative in every country except El Salvador and Guatemala, where it grew 9.0 percent and 6.6 percent respectively. The most affected countries were Panama (-6.3%) and Bolivia (-4.6%), where the health crisis had a severe impact on economic activity, said Millicom.
In terms of customers, the operator’s mobile base increased 4.7 percent year on year in Latin America as whole to 41.7 million thanks to 2.3 million acquisitions in Q4 alone. Total 4G customers were up 18.5 percent year on year to 18.2 million, although postpaid subscribers fell 4.2 percent to 4.9 million.
Homes passed by Millicom’s HFC network rose 3.3 percent year on year to 12.3 million, with HFC revenue generating climbing 8.0 percent year on year to 7.6 million.
