Cable & Wireless Communications used its full-year results to unveil Project Marlin, a programme to invest an additional $250 million in its networks across the Caribbean and Central America.

The programme will run over the three years to end-March 2017 and is on top of the group’s existing capex, which will increase as a result to $1.05 billion by 2016/17.

The investment will go into both mobile and fixed networks with the intention of delivering “modest” top-line growth, so reversing a historic decline.

In addition, CWC hopes the extra spend will deliver mid-to-high single digit Ebitda CAGR through both revenue growth and operating efficiencies as a result of improved back-office processes.

CWC’s revenue fell by one per cent to $1.87 billion in the year to end-March 2014. Mobile revenues fared slightly better with three per cent growth to $937 million. Net profit (before exceptional items) rose by 45 per cent to $148 million. The company cut operating costs by five per cent to $763 million.

Total mobile customers across the group increased by nine per cent to 3.7 million. It has operations in a number of countries including Panama, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Cayman Islands.

CWC this week received $445 million from French billionaire Xavier Niel from the sale of Monaco Telecom.

The company has four strategic areas it will back with investment. They are establishing mobile leadership through offering faster 4G networks, fixed-mobile convergence,  strengthening its TV offering and growing its business services.

According to new CEO Phil Bentley (pictured), the company has “a unique position in fixed and mobile”. And many of its markets are still largely underpenetrated by data products.

“We are seeing attractive growth in mobile data, driven by growing smartphone penetration and underpinned by investments in the latest 4G mobile network technology and LTE, which we have launched in Cayman and the Bahamas.”