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Millicom International Cellular: Transformation Delivering Strong Organic Growth in Q2
[July 16, 2014]

Millicom International Cellular: Transformation Delivering Strong Organic Growth in Q2


STOCKHOLM --(Business Wire)--

Millicom (News - Alert) (Stockholmsbörsen: MIC), the international telecommunications and media company, today announced organic growth of 9% in the three months to the end of June as the company continued its transformation into a digital lifestyle company.

The quarter's highlights included:

· Organic revenue growth increased to 9.0% compared to 8.5% in Q1

· Strong momentum in Colombia continues - market share gains helped drive a 27% increase in service revenue

· 16% revenue growth for Cable & Digital Media

· FIFA World Cup app downloaded over 600,000 times fuelling further mobile data growth

· AIH deal with MTN (News - Alert) closed, UNE merger approval process progressing

· Q2 EBITDA at $479 million after corporate costs, margin at 33.1%.

In key business areas the following achievements were recorded:

· Mobile: our mobile data business continued to display strong growth fuelled by an expanding range of attractively priced handsets. We saw good growth in mobile data users improving penetration within our base to 22.7%. Usage continues to grow driven by music, entertainment and in Q2 the success of our FIFA World Cup mobile app.

· Cable & Digital Media: continues to see strong organic growth. We have extende the Pay-TV offering with direct to home (DTH) services in five new markets, including Guatemala, massively extending bundling opportunities.



· Mobile Financial Services (MFS): we added 114,000 new customers recording strong take-up in Honduras and El Salvador taking the base to over 7.4 million and a penetration of 18.1% (excluding Senegal recently launched). Revenue and volume of usage continue to grow strongly at +41% and +37% respectively.

· Cost & Capex Optimisation: we have commenced an efficiency and optimization programme in Guatemala that will now be extended to other countries.


Millicom's CEO and President, Hans-Holger Albrecht, commented:

"Millicom's strategy to drive exceptional growth continues to gather pace. We saw an acceleration of the strong growth achieved in Q1 taking our organic growth in Q2 to 9%. This highlights once again the great potential in our markets and growth opportunities from investing in them.

We are at an exciting point in our development. There are tangible signs that our strategy is paying off. The pace of change is rapid as we continue to create opportunities to deliver a Digital Lifestyle for our customers. This has required investment, but we understand the challenges of managing growth profitably. In striving to deliver our return on capital targets we will continue to focus as much on the costs as we do on revenue."

About Millicom

Millicom (STO:MIC) is a leading international telecommunications and media company dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa. Millicom sets the pace when it comes to providing digital lifestyle services to the world's emerging markets, giving access to the world, primarily through mobile devices. Operating in fourteen countries, Millicom offers innovative and customer-centric products. Millicom employs more than 10,000 people and provides mobile, cable, broadband, TV content, online and financial services to over 50 million customers. Founded in 1990, Millicom is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm under the symbol MIC. In 2013 Millicom generated revenue of $5.16 billion and EBITDA of $1.9 billion.

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