Telecom Italia relied on its Latin America operations to boost earnings in 2011, with higher than expected income from Brazil and Argentina helping it lift EBITDA €834 million year-on-year.
The telco generated EBITDA of €12.2 billion during 2011, as the two markets powered revenue growth of 8.7%. However, chief Franco Bernabè expressed optimism about the firm’s domestic market, noting that a drive to cut costs boosted the business during the final quarter of the year.
Perhaps more crucially, the firm managed to cut its debt level by a little over €1 billion, despite investing €1.2 billion in acquiring LTE frequencies.
“2011 was marked by the slowing of the faster growing economies and fears of recession in the more mature ones,” Bernabè states, adding. “Notwithstanding the macroeconomic difficulties, the company managed to reach all its consolidated 2011 goals in terms of stabilising revenues, profits and operating free cash flow generation.”