In the latest financial report released by America Movil, the telecommunications giant, has revealed significant growth in various metrics for the first quarter of 2024. The company announced increases in subscribers, average revenue per user (ARPU), capital expenditure (Capex), and revenue.
During the first quarter, America Movil welcomed 1.5 million new wireless subscribers, marking a substantial increase in its customer base. Of these additions, 1.3 million were contract clients, indicating strong growth in long-term commitments.
Notable gains in the postpaid segment were observed, with 555,000 new subscribers in Brazil, 260,000 in Austria, 126,000 in Colombia, and 105,000 in Mexico. In the prepaid segment, America Movil added 263,000 subscribers, with significant contributions from Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil.
However, the company also reported a disconnection of 584,000 subscribers in Central America, primarily due to a cybersecurity incident that hindered its ability to activate new clients.
On the broadband front, America Movil witnessed its best performance in four years, connecting 562,000 new accesses. Mexico led the growth with 325,000 new clients, followed by Brazil and Colombia. Conversely, there were declines in voice lines and PayTV units by 40,000 and 112,000, respectively.
As of the end of March, America Movil boasted a subscriber base of 312 million wireless subscribers, with 123 million being postpaid clients. Additionally, the company reported 74 million fixed-line Revenue Generating Units (RGUs), including broadband accesses, Pay TV units, and landlines. Postpaid base saw a year-on-year increase of 6.4 percent, while fixed-broadband accesses rose by 4.8 percent.
In terms of capital expenditure, America Movil invested 21.8 billion pesos in the first quarter of 2024 to enhance its infrastructure and services.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) showed mixed trends across different operations. In Mexico, ARPU rose by 3.9 percent to MxP 176, while Brazil witnessed a 3 percent increase to BrL 24. However, ARPU in Colombia fell by 4.1 percent to COP 14,701, and in Peru, it rose by 3.3 percent to Sol 25.
Despite the positive operational performance, America Movil reported a slight decline in revenue for the first quarter, totaling 203.3 billion Mexican pesos ($12.3 billion). This decrease of 2.7 percent was attributed to currency fluctuations, as the stronger Mexican peso diluted earnings from abroad. Service revenue expanded by 1.1 percent to 170.9 billion pesos, while other revenue declined significantly by 71.7 percent to 2.4 billion pesos.
The company highlighted the impact of currency fluctuations and previous asset sales in the Dominican Republic and Peru, which contributed to extraordinary income in the first quarter of 2023, as factors influencing the comparative results.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
