Millicom looking to maximize liquidity rather than redeem 2013 notes

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Portland, Ore., Oct. 21 - Millicom International Cellular SA will put off the previously planned early redemption of $460 million of 10% notes due 2013 in an effort to strengthen its balance sheet and maximize liquidity, Marc Beuls, chief executive officer of Millicom, said Tuesday during a company conference call held to discuss third-quarter results.

"Millicom's balance sheet is under-levered and in the current market we are happy to maintain this position," Beuls said.

The company also plans to reduce capital expenditures in the balance of 2008 and in 2009 to promote faster cash generation and to allow the company to add cash to the balance sheet.

"We had always expected to be generating cash flow in 2009, but lower capex will speed our generation of cash reserves within the business," Beuls said.

Millicom ended the third quarter with more than $1.0 billion of cash and net debt of $826 million.

Beuls said the company's primary uses for cash going forward will be focused on growing Millicom's existing businesses where the company continues to see opportunities to capture greater market share and improve margins. Africa and Asia will be areas of particular focus, he said.

At the same time, Millicom will be closely monitoring subscriber additions and measuring usage of existing customers to be prepared to react quickly to changes in current customer behavior.

"We have made a number of adjustments in our planning so that Millicom has the flexibility to continue to operate profitably in the current environment," Beuls said.

Millicom reported revenues of $869 million in the third quarter, up 27% from the prior-year period, and EBITDA of $369 million, which was up 25% from the 2007 third quarter.

Millicom is a Luxembourg-based telecommunications company.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.