Mexico’s America Movil Q3 profit rises 13.7%

Mexican telecommunications giant America Movil reported a 13.7% jump in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, helped by more wireless subscribers across all the regions where it operates, compared to a year earlier.

The company, which is controlled by the family of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, posted net profit of 17.97 billion pesos ($892.8 million), up from 15.81 billion pesos in the third quarter last year, which suffered from negative foreign exchange impacts.

Analysts at Monex and Banorte said quarterly earnings had landed largely in line with prior estimates.

America Movil’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached 83.2 billion pesos, up 2.3% from a year earlier, while revenue edged up 1.8% to 214.47 billion pesos.

The company said it had added 2.9 million wireless subscribers in the quarter, including 1.9 million postpaid customers, largely from Brazil. It also reported 156,000 new broadband additions.

“These figures confirm an important recovery in consumer data and service segments, as well as efficient cost control,” said analysts at Monex.

The brokerage raised its stock recommendation to “buy” from “hold” off the back of “favorable” results and more prepaid customers.

America Movil said it was operating 5G in 64 Mexican cities by the end of September. The company has said it plans to roll out its coverage to 100 cities throughout the country by the end of 2022.

The company also said it used the spin-off of its cell tower business Sitios Latinoamerica, which went public at the end of September, to help chip away at its debt.

Shares in Sitios have halved in value since going public, while shares in America Movil are down 21% since the start of 2022. Reuters