Emerging markets player Millicom saw earnings slip in Q4 2015, as the company’s top line was hit by volatile currency conditions and weakening economies in Latin America and Africa.

Headline numbers saw revenue for the quarter drop by 9.8 per cent to $1.68 billion, from $1.86 billion in Q4 2014, as the operator reported a net loss of $426 million, from a net profit of $48 million in the quarter year prior.

EBITDA declined to $492 million from $588 million.

Mauricio Ramos, group CEO, was however pleased by the company’s operational performance throughout full year 2015, as it focused on “profitable and responsible growth”. On an organic basis (y-o-y growth in local currency), Ramos said Q4 delivered service revenue growth of 6 per cent, driven by mobile data and cable growth.

“Like most multinationals operating in emerging markets, our top line performance has been marred by the impact of currency depreciation and weakening economics, but we are resilient and this remains a very credible performance,” he said in a statement.

In its largest operating region of Latin America, the company reported revenue of $1.4 billion, declining 11.7 per cent from $1.6 billion in Q4 2015, noting good growth in Costa Rica and Bolivia, but with currency weaknesses in Colombia and Paraguay significantly affecting revenue.

Ramos said the region was further affected by slowing growth rates and softened consumer spending, but the “appetite for smartphone adoption remains strong”. On an organic basis, the company said service revenue increased 2.8 per cent.

In Africa,  the company reported revenue of $258 million, up slightly from $256 million last year. Organic growth was 13.4 per cent.

Ramos added Millicom is “employing stringent capital allocation disciplines” in Africa, in light of its decision to sell off its business in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Orange for $160 million, announced earlier this week. For 2016, he wants the region to “deliver a significantly improved cash profile”, and said the company had restructured its operations in the continent to accelerate growth.

Data monetisation
The operator, which has repeatedly outlined its intentions to push mobile data in the emerging markets, said it gained a total of 1.1 million mobile subscribers in the quarter. Millicom said it had 62.6 million customers in total at the end of December, an increase of six million year on year.

As part of its data push, Millicom said it sold nearly 1.6 million smartphones during the quarter, adding one million new mobile data users, giving it a data penetration of 30 per cent across its markets.

Its Mobile Financial Services division also saw growth, with 470,000 new users in Q4, taking its total to 11.2 million, with significant gains in Tanzania, Ghana and Rwanda.

Overall, mobile revenue was reported to have slipped 1.3 per cent to $1.1 billion, from $1.2 billion last year, with the company citing declines in voice and SMS from both Africa and Latin America. At a constant foreign exchange the figure stood at a 1.3 per cent increase.

Ramos said the company expects “uncertainty to continue to prevail in emerging market economies in 2016, which is why we will continue to strengthen the fundamentals of our business while continuing our focus on improving cash flow further”.