Liberty Puerto Rico reports $366M in revenue in 1Q23
Liberty Puerto Rico, the local subsidiary of Liberty Latin America, reported $366 million in revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, reflecting a steady result when compared to the same year-ago period.
In its quarterly earnings report, the local operation stated that residential fixed revenue growth was driven by subscriber additions over the past 12 months, partly offset by reduced average revenue per user, or ARPU.
“Revenues remained flat quarter over quarter as average revenue per user (ARPU) has been
impacted by lower rates and government subsidies,” said Naji Khoury, CEO of Liberty Puerto Rico.
Meanwhile, residential mobile revenue was lower compared to the prior-year period, as higher volumes of handset sales were more than offset by lower ARPU from mobile services, including the impact of higher contract asset amortization driven by increases in handset sales and subsidy levels, and a decline in the average number of prepaid mobile subscribers, according to the report.
“This quarter, our home services segment registered solid growth with 10,000 revenue generating units (RGU) net additions. This growth was mostly driven by our internet product, as has been the trend for the past several years,” said Khoury.
Regarding mobile subscribers, Liberty Puerto Rico’s postpaid base grew during this quarter and continued to record exceptionally low levels of churn, or the rate at which customers cancel or do not renew their subscription. However, this growth was offset by losses in the prepaid segment mainly due to constraints related to integration, he added.
“We continue to invest in the expansion and upgrade of our fixed and mobile networks in Puerto Rico and anticipate that this, together with our converged propositions, will drive sustained growth,” said Khoury.
In the report, Liberty Puerto Rico reported Operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) of $134.4 million for the three-month period ended March 31, down 4% from the $140.6 million for the same year-ago quarter.
The decline was driven by higher operating costs, partly offset by lower direct costs following equipment credits received in the first quarter of 2023 related to historical handset purchases, the company stated in the report.
