Luxembourg, April 24th, 2018 - Kicking off 2018 with accelerating momentum
Q1 2018 highlights(i)
- Latam organic service revenue growth improved to 3.9%, up 5.2 percentage points
- Broad-based improvement across countries and business lines – growth positive in every country
- Mobile recovery continues, with growth of 0.9%, with mobile data up 17.7%
- Home revenue growing steadily, up 7.6%
- Strong commercial performance consistent with our full year KPI targets
- Added 241,000 HFC homes-passed and a record 91,000 HFC homes-connected (+44% YoY)
- Added 643,000 4G customers (+64% YoY), a record for a Q1
- Fourth consecutive quarter of positive Latam EBITDA growth
(i) The financial information presented in this earnings release is based on Alternative Performance Measures determined by the way in which the Executive Management (Chief Operating Decision Maker) manage the performance and resource allocation of the Group. It includes Guatemala (55% owned) & Honduras (66.67% owned) as if fully consolidated. With the exception of balance sheet items, the comparative 2017 financial information in this earnings release has been adjusted for the classification of our operations in Senegal, Ghana and Rwanda as discontinued operations. At March 31st, 2018, Senegal is classified as an asset held for sale on our balance sheet. Our operations in Ghana have been merged with Airtel on October 12th, 2017 and are accounted for as a joint venture since that date. Our operations in Rwanda have been disposed of on January 31st, 2018. IFRS Revenue was $1,042 million in Q1 2018; see page 18 for reconciliation with IFRS numbers.
| Group ($m) | Q1 2018 | Q1 2017 | % change |
| Revenue | 1,516 | 1,459 | 3.9% |
| Service Revenue | 1,422 | 1,375 | 3.4% |
| Organic(1) growth | 3.6% | (1.7%) | 5.4ppts |
| EBITDA | 554 | 542 | 2.3% |
| Organic growth | 1.5% | (0.6%) | 2.1ppts |
| EBITDA Margin | 36.5% | 37.1% | (0.6pt) |
| Capex(2) | 157 | 148 | 6.1% |
| OCF (EBITDA – Capex) | 397 | 393 | 0.9% |
Notes: (1) Organic growth excludes impact from changes in FX rates, consolidation perimeter, and accounting (IFRS 15). See page 17 for full impact of IFRS 15 adoption on our Income Statement. (2) Excludes spectrum as well as finance lease capitalizations from tower sale-leaseback transactions.
Millicom Chief Executive Officer Mauricio Ramos commented:
The strong momentum we saw in the second half of 2017 has continued into Q1 of 2018, and we are on track with our guidance. Over the past three years, we have significantly transformed the company, starting with our clear and simple strategy to focus our resources on deploying high-speed data networks in Latin America. We are now beginning to reap benefits in the form of faster and more predictable revenue growth, improved cash flow and returns, and a stronger balance sheet.
In Latam, revenue growth in our mobile business improved to almost 1%, with Guatemala leading the way at more than 4%, an impressive turnaround from the 5% drop that we reported in Q1 2017 in that country. Meanwhile, our Home and B2B businesses continue to grow steadily, and we connected a record number of new homes during the quarter, as we move closer toward our plan to pass 15 million homes in the medium term.
Subsequent events
On April 19th 2018, the President of Senegal issued an approval decree in respect of the proposed sale by Millicom of its Tigo operation in Senegal to a consortium consisting of NJJ, Sofima (a telecom investment vehicle managed by the Axian Group) and Teyliom Group.
On April 23rd 2018, the U.S. Justice Department informed Millicom that it is closing its investigation into Millicom. In October 2015, Millicom voluntarily reported to the U.S. Department of Justice potential improper payments made on behalf of the company’s joint venture in Guatemala and, since then, has cooperated fully with the Justice Department's investigation.
Conference call details
A presentation and conference call to discuss these results will take place on April 25th, 2018 at 2:00 PM (Stockholm) / 1:00 PM (London) / 8:00 AM (New York). Please dial in 5-10 minutes before the scheduled start time to register your attendance. Dial-in numbers for the call are as follows:
Sweden: +46 (0) 8 5065 3942 UK: +44 (0) 330 336 9411
US: +1 646 828 8143 Luxembourg: +352 2787 0187
The access code is: 6273539
A live audio stream, presentation slides, and replay information can be accessed at www.millicom.com.
Financial calendar
May 4 – AGM / EGM (Location: Luxembourg)
| Quarterly results | Earnings release | Conference call |
| Q2 2018 | Jul 19 | Jul 20 |
| Q3 2018 | Oct 23 | Oct 24 |
For further information, please contact
Press:
Vivian Kobeh, Corporate Communications Director
+1 305 476 7352 / +1 305 302 2858
press@millicom.com
Investors:
Michel Morin, VP Investor Relations
+352 277 59094
investors@millicom.com
Mauricio Pinzon, Investor Relations Manager
Tel: +44 20 3249 2460
investors@millicom.com
Risks and uncertainty factors
Millicom operates in a dynamic industry characterized by rapid evolution in technology, consumer demand, and business opportunities. Combined with a focus on emerging markets in various geographic locations, the Group has a proactive approach to identifying, understanding, assessing, monitoring and acting on balancing risks and opportunities. For a description of risks and Millicom’s approach to risk management, please refer to the 2017 Annual Report (http://www.millicom.com/investors/reporting-centre).
This press release may contain certain “forward-looking statements” with respect to Millicom’s expectations and plans, strategy, management’s objectives, future performance, costs, revenue, earnings and other trend information. It is important to note that Millicom’s actual results in the future could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements depending on various important factors, including those included in this release. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Millicom on the date hereof. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Millicom International Cellular S.A., and Millicom International Cellular S.A. employees or representatives acting on Millicom’s behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the factors referred to above. Millicom does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
About Millicom
Millicom is a leading provider of cable and mobile services dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa. Millicom sets the pace when it comes to providing high-speed broadband and innovation around The Digital Lifestyle services through its principal brand, Tigo. As of December 31st, 2017, Millicom employed approximately 19,000 people and provided mobile services to approximately 51 million customers, with a cable footprint of more than 9 million homes passed. Founded in 1992, Millicom International Cellular SA is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm under the symbol MIC_SDB. In 2017, Millicom reported revenues of $6.0 billion and EBITDA of $2.2 billion.
This information was, prior to this release, inside information and is information that Millicom is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 22:05 CET on April 24th, 2018.
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