Operator Millicom slipped to a net loss as revenue dropped in Q2, despite the company experiencing its “best quarter ever” for 4G subscriber additions.

The company, which operates in Latin America and Africa, saw revenue drop 1.5 per cent year-on-year to $1.5 billion, while service revenue slipped by 1.1 per cent to $1.4 billion.

Millicom said it recorded a net loss of $28 million in the quarter, which included profit of $11 million from discontinued operations in Senegal and the DRC.

Despite the drops, which the company attributed to regulatory pressure, pricing and foreign exchange movements, Millicom said five out of its six markets in Latin America showed better growth in Q2 over Q1, with only Columbia struggling.

On an annual basis, revenue from the company’s Latin American operations fell 1.1 per cent to $1.3 billion.

CEO Mauricio Ramos (pictured) said Latin America overall saw continued signs of improvement, but the company still faced challenges in the region.

“Revenue growth is improving in all Latam markets except Colombia, driven by robust growth in mobile data and in our home segment,” he said.

The company added 1.2 million 4G subscribers in the region during the quarter, to reach 5 million in total, as well as 68,000 new HFC customers, giving it 2.2 million.

Africa
In Africa, total revenue hit $172 million, down from $191 million in Q2 2016, with the addition of 149,000 subscribers during the recent quarter giving it 21.7 million mobile subscribers in the region in total.

Service revenue dropped by 6.2 per cent year-on-year to $171 million, due to “extremely challenging” market conditions.

Ramos added the primary objective for Africa in 2017 “is to ensure that the region can fund itself going forward”.

“We remain confident that we will achieve this goal in 2017, notwithstanding the challenging operating conditions that we have seen year-to-date,” he added.