Liberty Puerto Rico revenue drops 9% to $298.4M in Q1
Liberty Latin America dropped its 2024–2026 outlook due to subscriber losses and expiring subsidies.
Liberty Puerto Rico reported a 9% year-over-year revenue decline for the first quarter of 2025, with parent company Liberty Latin America citing mobile migration disruptions and the expiration of federal subsidies as key drivers.
The company also withdrew its mid-term financial outlook for 2024–2026, pointing to a slower-than-expected recovery in the Puerto Rican market.
“In Puerto Rico, we are confident we have the right assets in place to rebuild momentum and scale in mobile and continue to see [Fixed-Mobile Convergence] as a key differentiator for us going forward,” said Liberty Latin America CEO Balan Nair.
“However, after a challenging migration through 2024, which negatively impacted our Adjusted [operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA)] and Adjusted [free cash flow (FCF)], progress on mobile remains slower than we had anticipated through the early stages of 2025,” he added.
“Adjusted OIBDA increased by 18% and 16% on a reported and rebased basis, respectively, year-over-year. The positive performance came despite the revenue decline and was supported by (i) the phasing out of prior period integration costs, (ii) lower equipment costs, (iii) lower FTEs in the period, (iv) lower interconnect costs and (v) the termination of our transition services agreement with AT&T following migration,” the company reported.
“Compared to Q4 2024, Adjusted OIBDA this quarter was up 2% on a reported basis with the sequential decline in revenue of $18 million compensated by (i) a significant decline in bad debt expense related to charges taken in Q4 2024 due to mobile equipment installment programs and (ii) lower equipment costs given lower handset sales,” it stated.
Revenue in Puerto Rico fell to $298.4 million in the first quarter, down from $327.2 million a year earlier. The decrease was primarily due to a reduction in postpaid mobile subscribers, lower average revenue per user and the expiration of the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) in mid-2024.
Residential mobile revenue dropped 10% on a reported basis and 16% on a rebased basis. The company attributed the slide to customer migration issues that disrupted service and contributed to dissatisfaction.
Business-to-business revenue fell by 22%, also affected by a shrinking subscriber base and the end of ECF support.
In total, Liberty Puerto Rico lost approximately 12,900 mobile subscribers during the quarter, a decline the company attributed to challenges transitioning customers to its mobile network. The number broke down to 6,300 prepaid and 12,900 postpaid clients.
Despite headwinds in Puerto Rico, Liberty Latin America reported an 8% year-over-year increase in rebased Adjusted OIBDA across the group, citing strong performance in other markets, including C&W Caribbean and C&W Panama.
“This performance reflects the benefits of investments in our networks and products in recent years through upgrades, coverage expansion and selective spectrum acquisitions,” Nair said. “We are still investing where we see opportunities, including in the rollout of new subsea cable systems which will drive revenue in future years.”
As of March 31, Liberty Puerto Rico reported $2.76 billion in outstanding principal debt and finance lease obligations. The company held $37.7 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash related to debt.
