Iusacell Slips into Q4 Loss on Currency Fluctuations

Mexico's Grupo Iusacell has reported that its net revenue during the fourth-quarter dropped slightly to Ps.2,982 million (US$199.7 million), compared to Ps.2,993 million in the same period in 2007. The company registered a net loss of Ps.1,978 million (US$132.5 million), compared to net income of Ps.346 million (US$23 million) for the same period of the previous year. The result was primarily due to foreign exchange losses as a result of the depreciation of the peso during this quarter.

During the quarter, the company said that it updated the prepaid customer base to reflect only those subscribers who are currently active, meaning that they have recently acquired prepaid air time and still receive calls. The update was the principal variable in the reduction of the prepaid subscribers during the quarter.

The company ended the year with 3.5 million customers - compared to 4 million at the end of 2007.

As of December 31, 2008, the debt balance of the company was Ps.12,542 million (US$840 million), compared to the Ps.10,705 million reported a year ago; the increase is mainly due to the rise in the higher peso amount of the dollar denominated debt, resulting from the exchange rate depreciation.

Capital expenditures for 2008 were Ps.907 million, mainly for system and equipment purchases for the purpose of extending Iusacell's 3G network coverage and capacity and its EVDO services.

Posted to the site on 27th February 2009