America Movil swung back into the black in the fourth quarter of 2018, with the company also providing an update on the progress of recently announced asset buys from Telefonica in Latin America.

It said it completed the acquisition of Telefonica’s assets in Guatemala, as announced in January, while a similar deal in El Salvador is awaiting regulatory approval. The cost of the deals was pegged at $333 million for 100 per cent of the former, and $315 million for 99.3 per cent of the latter.

The company reported a profit for the quarter of MXN9.8 billion ($508.8 million), compared with a prior-year loss of MXN10.9 billion, benefitting from significantly lower comprehensive financing costs due to the release of provisions made in Brazil linked to a tax dispute. Foreign exchange losses were also lower.

Operating profit increased 25.6 per cent year-on-year to MXP35.9 billion, partly due to reduced depreciation charges in Brazil following a revision of the useful lives of various assets.

Total revenue decreased 0.7 per cent to MXP262 billion, with a 1.7 per cent decline in service revenue to MXP217.2 billion partially offset by an increase in equipment revenue. The company said that at constant exchange rates, service revenue grew 3 per cent.

It ended the period with 275.8 million wireless customers, down 1.3 per cent year-on-year. The lion’s share of subscribers are in Mexico (75.4 million), followed by Brazil (56.4 million)

For the full year, the company generated profit of MXP45.7 billion, up 8.4 per cent year-on-year, on revenue of MXP1 trillion, which was flat.