Millicom’s Tigo And UNE Brands Contributing To Strong Q1 2015 Results

Millicom CEO Mauricio Ramos

Millicom International Cellular (NASDAQ:MICC) (STO:MIC), the Luxembourg based global telecom operating the Tigo and UNE brands in Colombia is reporting strong first quarter revenue growth across its operating units. While the weakness of the Colombian Peso has served as a drag on profitability, the company has seen continued growth in new subscriptions.

“In Latam, customers continue to upgrade to smartphones and headline mobile revenue growth remained robust this quarter. We have seen a slowing of mobile service revenue growth as a result of mobile termination rate cuts and some trading down in Colombia. We continue to see the impact of currency fluctuations, which had a major impact in some markets. Still, with the inclusion of UNE, revenues in Colombia doubled on the previous year despite a very significant currency devaluation This quarter we extended our partnership In Colombia and Guatemala, taking it into four markets. The initiative allows our customers to access Facebook without any initial data charges. Our experience shows that very many of these customers stay with us once the initial promotion periods end,” said CEO Mauricio Ramos.

Key highlights of Q1 2015

• Revenue of $1.71 billion, up 22%
• Excluding UNE, Group revenue of $1.44 billion – organic growth of 9.7%,
• Adverse currency movements impact this growth – reported growth of 2.2%
• EBITDA at $565 million – margin at 33.1% · Service revenue margin of 36.5%
• Excluding UNE, EBITDA of $491 million – 34.2% margin
• Reduction of Group corporate costs for the third consecutive quarter
• Corporate Center alignment with operations
• Fourth country to launch “Facebook” campaign
• 1.14 million mobile net adds, mostly driven by Tanzania, Colombia, Chad and Honduras