Strong momentum across the business

Key highlights of Q1 2015

• Revenue of $1.71 billion, up 22%
  • Excluding UNE, Group revenue of $1.44 billion  - organic growth(a) 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 Centre alignment with operations
• Fourth country to launch “Facebook” campaign
• 1.14 million mobile net adds, mostly driven by Tanzania, Colombia, Chad and Honduras

Key financial indicators

• Latam: Central America continues its revenue momentum following a recovery in Honduras. The growth momentum in South America slowed slightly but remained at double digit following mobile termination rate cuts in Colombia and Paraguay. Smartphone adoption continues to increase (+13% compared to Q4 14) with smartphones sales still strong this quarter reaching 1.3 million units.
• Africa: the momentum is accelerating with revenue growth of 16% up from 13% in the last quarter, with double digit organic revenue growth in all markets except Chad. EBITDA of $57 million with a margin improvement. 

(a) Organic growth represents year-on year-growth in local currency (excludes the impact of exchange rate changes) and excludes UNE
(b) Basic EPS adjusted for non-operating items see page 16 for reconciliation

President’s Statement

Strong momentum across the business

Stockholm, 22nd April 2015

“As my first set of results since joining Millicom at the start of the month, I am pleased to present a strong performance.  Underlying organic revenue growth was up 9.7%, demonstrating improvements across both our Latin American and African markets and a continuation of the momentum we saw last year.

Customers are continuing their rapid adoption of smartphones, accelerating mobile and data revenue growth for the Group. Mobile data penetration now stands at 27.6% (up 7% in one year) representing nearly 16 million customers. A further 110,000 customers became users of our mobile financial services in the first quarter with customers transacting $2.6 billion – an 33% increase since the same period last year.

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.

In Africa, we are focused on growing both volume and value. DRC and Senegal returned to growth with Tanzania’s performance also accelerating. This delivered a total organic revenue growth for the region of 16%. Rwanda launched the country’s first mobile-based free of charge savings product, promoting financial inclusion. LTE arrives in Tanzania for the first time this month as we become the largest and fastest 4G network in this market.

To further align and make our regional hubs more efficient, we have restructured Millicom’s operating model to create two regions; Millicom Latam and Millicom Africa. This restructure will enable us to continue to invest long term in these markets whilst managing costs. Corporate costs continue to reduce quarter on quarter and were reduced by 5% this quarter.

It is greatly encouraging to see the growth of the business reflected in the Q1 results. As I continue my induction into the business, I have been impressed by the talent and dedication our people. Millicom is at the intersection between mobile, social and content – the Digital Lifestyle - and we are innovating in the emerging markets where we operate. This exciting story, and the continually improving performance, gives us an excellent opportunity to build a truly outstanding company. While there are many challenges ahead, I have every confidence that we are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities to deliver customer and shareholder value. A more in-depth strategic update will be delivered with our 2015 half year results.”

Mauricio Ramos
CEO,
Millicom

2015 Guidance

Millicom guidance(1) for 2015 remains:

Revenue: between $7.1 and $7.5 billion

EBITDA: between $2.20 and $2.35 billion

Capex(2): between $1.25 and $1.35 billion

1) At constant foreign exchange rates and constant perimeter. 
2) Capex excludes spectrum and license costs.

Conference call details

A presentation and conference call to discuss results of the quarter will take place at 14.00 Stockholm / 14.00 Luxembourg / 13.00 London / 08.00 New York, on Wednesday 22nd April 2015.  Dial-in numbers: + 46 (0) 853 526 408, + 352 342 080 8570, + 44 203 427 1912, +1 646 254 3360. Access code: 1502585         

A live audio stream of the conference call can also be accessed at www.millicom.com.  Please dial in / log on 10 minutes prior to the start of the conference call to allow time for registration.

Slides to accompany the conference call are available at www.millicom.com.

Risks and uncertainty factors

Millicom operates in a dynamic industry characterized by rapid evolution in technology, consumer demand, and business opportunities. Combine 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, refer to the 2013 Annual Report (http://www.millicom.com/media/2379621/Millicom-Annual-Report-2014.pdf).

Significant events of the quarter

Corporate news

10th Feb 2015: Acquisition of minority interests in Tigo Rwanda
3rd Mar 2015: Mauricio Ramos appointed Millicom’s Chief Executive Officer

Business news

15th Jan 2015: Partnership with Facebook’s internet.org in Colombia
21st Jan 2015: Tigo Music launches in Tanzania
25th Feb 2015: Tanzanians to enjoy Africa’s first universal mobile money service
27th Feb 2015: Millicom joins GSMA’s mobile health partnership in Africa
26th Mar 2015: Tigo launches partnership with Facebook’s Internet.org in Guatemala
31st Mar 2015: Millicom launches Rwanda’s first mobile-saving product with Tigo Cash

Financial news

9th Jan 2015: Fitch affirmed Millicom’s rating at BB+ with a stable Outlook
3rd Feb 2015: Publication of FY 2014 results
10th Mar 2015: Outlook revised up by Moody’s from Negative to Stable
11th Mar 2015: Issuance of a 10-year corporate bond (US$500 million)

Subsequent events

2nd Apr 2015: Publication of our 2014 Corporate Responsibility Report
13th Apr 2015: Nomination Committee proposal for the Board
13th Apr 2015: Convening notice for Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
20th Apr 2015: El Salvador 8% Senior Notes Buy Back

Agenda

15th May 2015: 2014 AGM
21st July 2015: Q2 2015 results
22nd Oct 2015: Q3 2015 results

Contacts

Press Enquiries

Tabitha Aldrich-Smith, Interim Communications Director

Tel: +352 277 59084 (Luxembourg) / +44 7795 385 415 / press@millicom.com

Investor Relations

Nicolas Didio, Director, Head of Investor Relations

Tel: +352 277 59125 (Luxembourg) / +44 203 249 2220 / investors@millicom.com

Millicom is a leading telecom and media company dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa. Millicom sets the pace when it comes to providing innovative and customer-centric digital lifestyle services to the world’s emerging markets. The Millicom Group employs more than 16,000 people and provides mobile services to over 56 million customers. Founded in 1990, Millicom International Cellular SA is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm under the symbol MIC. In 2014, Millicom generated revenue of USD 6.4 billion and EBITDA of USD 2.1 billion.

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.

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.

Tags: