LUXEMBOURG, Oct. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Q3 2017 Highlights (i)

• Organic service revenue growth improved to 1.7%, up 3.0ppts from Q2

• Latam grew 2.3%, led by Paraguay at 6.5% and Bolivia at 6.1%

• On pace to exceed our full year targets of 3.0 million 4G net adds and 1.0 million new HFC homes passed

• 888,000 4G net adds in Q3 and 2.2 million year-to-date to 5.6 million subscribers, up 117% YOY

• 257,000 new HFC homes passed – 1.3 million added in last twelve months

• 70,000 new HFC homes connected in Q3 and 202,000 year-to-date to 2.3 million

• EBITDA grew 3.4% with margin up 80 basis points year-on-year on continued focus on operational efficiency

• Higher sales and marketing costs in Colombia more than offset by margin strength in other markets

• Nine-month equity free cash flow (ii) up 19% year-on-year to $204 million

* Excludes Ghana EBITDA of approximately $8 million in both Q3 2017 and Q3 2016 and of $26 million in both 9M 2017 and 9M 2016.

(i) The financial information presented in this earnings release is with Guatemala (55% owned) & Honduras (66.67% owned) as if fully consolidated. IFRS Revenue was $1,037 million in Q3 2017; see page 19 for reconciliation with IFRS numbers. With the exception of balance sheet items, the comparative 2016 financial information in this earnings release has been adjusted for the classification of our operations in Senegal and Ghana as discontinued operations (in accordance with IFRS 5) and Ghana as an asset held for sale.

(ii) Equity Free Cash Flow is Operating Cash Flow less taxes paid, finance charges (net) and advances for dividends to non-controlling interests.

Millicom Chief Executive Officer Mauricio Ramos commented:

"Over the past two years, we have accelerated the deployment of our high-speed data networks, both mobile and fixed, and our efforts are starting to pay off. Growth is coming back, and we are seeing positive momentum in our largest markets.

In Latam, I am particularly pleased with our performance in Paraguay, Bolivia, and Guatemala. In these three countries, revenue growth in our Home unit exceeds 20%, and B2C Mobile is growing again. In Colombia, we continue to make the investments needed to drive sustainable and profitable growth over the medium to long term.

In Africa, we made progress toward our strategic goals by merging our business in Ghana with Airtel's to create a strong and viable operation. We also saw a significant improvement in revenue growth trends in the region, buoyed by Tanzania, which reported its strongest rate of growth in more than one year.

As we approach the end of 2017 and continue planning for 2018, I am confident that we have the strategy in place to produce faster growth and generate higher returns and free cash flow over time."

Subsequent Events

On 12 October 2017, we completed the transaction announced on 3 March 2017 with Bharti Airtel Limited to combine our operations in Ghana. The Ghana business has been accounted for as a discontinued operation at 30 September 2017 and will be accounted for as a joint venture from 12 October 2017.

On 12 October 2017, our Bolivia operation placed approximately $80 million of local currency debt in three tranches, with an average term of 6.6 years and an average interest rate of 4.66%.

On 15 October 2017, we completed the redemption of our 6.625% Senior Notes due 2021, as announced on 11 & 20 September 2017.

Outlook

Our Latam segment continues to perform in line with our expectations, excluding regulatory impacts. Stronger than expected customer intake has been an additional drag on EBITDA year-to-date, but this is now beginning to deliver faster growth. For Q4, we anticipate year-on-year constant currency service revenue growth in the range of 2% to 4% and EBITDA growth of 4% to 6% for our Latin America region. With Senegal and Ghana now accounted for as discontinued operations, the perimeter for the group has changed, and Africa now represents less than 10% of Group revenue. We continue to expect that our Africa operations will generate positive equity free cash flow in 2017.

Conference call details

A presentation and conference call to discuss these results will take place on 25 October 2017 at 2:00 PM (Stockholm) / 1:00 PM (London) / 8:00 AM (New York). Please dial in 5-10 minutes before the scheduled start time to register your attendance. Dial-in numbers for the call are as follows:

Sweden:                +46 (0) 8 5033 6574               
UK:                         +44 (0) 330 336 9105

US:                         +1 719-325-2202                     
Luxembourg:        +352 2786 1395

The access code is: 3426788

A live audio stream and slides of the analyst presentation can also be accessed at www.millicom.com.

Financial calendar

Apr 12 – Last day for shareholders to add items to the AGM/EGM agenda                                                                             

May 4 – AGM / EGM (Location: Luxembourg)

CONTACT:

For further information, please contact

Press:

Vivian Kobeh, Corporate Communications Director
+1 305 476 7352 / +1 305 302 2858
press@millicom.com

Investors:

Michel Morin, VP Investor Relations 
+352 277 59094                                      
investors@millicom.com

Mauricio Pinzon, Investor Relations Manager
Tel: +44 20 3249 2460                    
investors@millicom.com

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SOURCE Millicom International Cellular