Millicom cuts Movistar debt by 28%

Millicom has begun showing the first results of its operating playbook at Movistar, roughly seven months after acquiring the telecom operator alongside French businessman Xavier Niel. Movistar, which is preparing to rebrand commercially as Tigo, reduced its financial debt for the first time in three years by 348,970 million Chilean pesos, a 28% drop compared to the close of 2025.

Under the leadership of Carolina Vallejo, Movistar reported first-half revenue of 732 million Chilean pesos, down 5.8% compared to the same period in 2025. Adjusted operating costs fell by approximately 15.8%, while adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 3.3 percentage points, rising from 15.9% in 2025 to 19.2%.

The operational turnaround included cutting roughly 35% of the workforce, which Millicom reported in May, along with dropping non-core assets. Movistar exited its naming rights for the arena now known as Santander Arena and discontinued older direct-to-home satellite television investments. Due to non-recurring restructuring expenses, the company posted a net loss of 130,592 million Chilean pesos, up from 75,365 million Chilean pesos in 2025.

Over the past three months, Movistar opened 55 new branches, including locations in rural areas, and modernized its mobile network. The unit also upgraded connectivity across all 143 stations and 8 lines of the Santiago Metro to boost browsing speeds in high-demand zones.