Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
See the Glossary of defined terms at the beginning of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The following discussion and analysis, which should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements, is intended to assist in providing an understanding of our results of operations and financial condition and is organized as follows:
• Overview. This section provides a general description of our business and recent events.
• Results of Operations. This section provides an analysis of our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.
• Liquidity and Capital Resources. This section provides an analysis of our liquidity, consolidated statements of cash flows and contractual commitments.
• Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates. This section discusses those material accounting policies that involve uncertainties and require significant judgment in their application.
Unless otherwise indicated, operational data (including subscriber statistics) is presented as of December 31, 2023.
A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared with the year ended December 31, 2021 can be found under captions entitled “ Results of Operations ” and “ Liquidity and Capital Resources ” in the section entitled “ Item 7 - Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ” of our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on February 22, 2023, which is available free of charge through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or the Company’s website, https://investors.lla.com/financials/sec-filings. The Company’s website and the information contained therein, or incorporated therein, are not intended to be incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
General
We are an international provider of fixed, mobile and subsea telecommunications services. We provide,
A. residential and B2B services in:
i. over 20 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean through two of our reportable segments, C&W Caribbean and C&W Panama;
ii. Puerto Rico and USVI, through our reportable segment Liberty Puerto Rico; and
iii. Costa Rica, through our reportable segment Liberty Costa Rica.
B. through our reportable segment Liberty Networks, (i) enterprise services in certain other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and (ii) wholesale services over our subsea and terrestrial fiber optic cable networks that connect approximately 40 markets in that region.
At December 31, 2023, we (i) owned and operated fixed networks that passed 4,620,400 homes and served 3,933,400 RGUs comprising 1,801,400 broadband internet subscribers, 933,700 video subscribers and 1,198,300 fixed-line telephony subscribers, and (ii) served 7,977,400 mobile subscribers.
Transactions
Tower Transactions. During November 2023, we entered into an agreement with Phoenix Tower International to monetize approximately 1,300 mobile tower sites across Panama, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Barbados, and the British Virgin Islands. As of December 31, 2023, we completed these transactions across most markets, which resulted in the receipt of approximately $244 million, which is recorded as debt in our consolidated financial statements. The transaction provides arrangements to extend coverage with a further 500 sites being built by Liberty Latin America and Phoenix Tower International over the next five years.
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Puerto Rico and USVI Spectrum Acquisition. During November 2023, we entered into an asset purchase agreement and a license purchase agreement with Dish Network to acquire Dish Network spectrum assets in Puerto Rico and USVI and prepaid mobile subscribers in those markets in exchange for cash and international roaming credits. The aggregate purchase price of $256 million will be paid in four annual installments commencing on the closing date, subject to post-closing adjustments. The transaction is subject to certain customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close during 2024.
Chile JV. In October 2022, we completed the formation of the Chile JV by contributing the Chile JV Entities into the Chile JV. Subsequent to the formation of the Chile JV, we began accounting for our 50% interest in the Chile JV as an equity method investment. Prior to the formation of the Chile JV, VTR was a wholly owned subsidiary. As such, our consolidated statement of operations and cash flows for 2022 include VTR through the closing of the formation of the Chile JV.
Strategy and Management Focus
From a strategic perspective, we are seeking to build or acquire broadband communications and mobile businesses that have strong prospects for future growth. As discussed further under Liquidity and Capital Resources—Capitalization below, we also seek to maintain our debt at levels that provide for attractive equity returns without assuming undue risk.
We strive to achieve “organic” revenue and customer growth in our operations by developing and marketing bundled entertainment, information and communications services, and extending and upgrading the quality of our networks where appropriate. As we use the term, organic growth excludes FX and the estimated impact of acquisitions and disposals. While we seek to increase our customer base, we also seek to maximize the average revenue we receive from each household or business by increasing the penetration of our video, broadband internet, fixed-line telephony and mobile services with existing customers through product bundling and up-selling.
Competition and Other External Factors
We are experiencing significant competition from other telecommunications operators and other communication service providers in all of our markets. The significant competition we are experiencing, together with macroeconomic factors, has adversely impacted our revenue, RGUs and/or ARPU in a number of our markets. For additional information regarding the revenue impact of changes in the RGUs and ARPU of our reportable segments, see discussion below .
Results of Operations
The comparability of our operating results during 2023 and 2022 is affected by an acquisition, a disposition and FX. As we use the term, “organic” changes exclude FX and the impacts of acquisitions and disposals, each as further discussed below.
In the following discussion, we quantify the estimated impacts on the operating results of the periods under comparison that are attributable to acquisitions and disposals. We (i) acquired América Móvil’s operations in Panama during July 2022 and (ii) in connection with the formation of the Chile JV, disposed of the Chile JV Entities during October 2022. With respect to acquisitions, organic changes exclude the operating results of an acquired entity during the first 12 months following the date of acquisition. With respect to disposals, the prior-year operating results of disposed entities are excluded from organic changes to the same extent that those operations are not included in the current year.
Changes in foreign currency exchange rates may have a significant impact on our operating results, as Liberty Costa Rica and certain entities within C&W have functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The impacts to the various components of our results of operations that are attributable to changes in FX are highlighted below. For information concerning our foreign currency risks and applicable foreign currency exchange rates, see Item 7A . Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk—Foreign Currency Risk below. For information regarding foreign currency risk, see Item 1A. Risk Factors above.
The amounts presented and discussed below represent 100% of the revenue and expenses of each segment and our corporate operations. As we have the ability to control certain subsidiaries that are not wholly-owned, we include 100% of the revenue and expenses of these entities in our consolidated statements of operations despite the fact that third parties own significant interests in these entities. The noncontrolling owners’ interests in the operating results of (i) certain subsidiaries of C&W and Liberty Puerto Rico, and (ii) Liberty Costa Rica are reflected in net earnings or loss attributable to noncontrolling interests in our consolidated statements of operations.
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On January 1, 2023, the B2B Costa Rican operations within our Liberty Networks segment was sold to our Liberty Costa Rica segment. This sale did not have a significant impact on the financial results of our Liberty Networks or Liberty Costa Rica segments.
We are subject to inflationary pressures with respect to certain costs and foreign currency exchange risk with respect to costs and expenses that are denominated in currencies other than the respective functional currencies of our reportable segments. Any cost increases that we are not able to pass on to our subscribers would result in increased pressure on our operating margins.
Year Ended December 31, 2023 as Compared with Year Ended December 31, 2022
Operating Income or Loss
The following table sets forth the organic and non-organic changes in the components of operating income or loss during 2023, as compared to 2022.
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease) from:
Increase (decrease) An acquisition A disposition
2023 2022 FX Organic
in millions
Revenue $ 4,511.1 $ 4,808.6 $ (297.5) $ 84.1 $ 69.6 $ (450.6) $ (0.6)
Operating costs and expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization, shown separately below):
Programming and other direct costs of services
1,020.4 1,210.5 (190.1) 18.2 17.8 (138.6) (87.5)
Other operating costs and expenses 1,877.8 1,981.7 (103.9) 34.9 50.2 (204.0) 15.0
Depreciation and amortization 1,008.3 910.7 97.6 14.9 17.0 — 65.7
Impairment, restructuring and other operating items, net 86.9 619.2 (532.3) 0.2 — (4.8) (527.7)
3,993.4 4,722.1 (728.7) 68.2 85.0 (347.4) (534.5)
Operating income $ 517.7 $ 86.5 $ 431.2 $ 15.9 $ (15.4) $ (103.2) $ 533.9
The changes to our operating income during 2023, as compared to 2022, as reflected in the table above, are primarily due to (i) decreases associated with impairment, restructuring and other operating items, net, (ii) the disposition of the Chile JV Entities and (iii) organic changes. For further discussion and analysis of organic changes in revenue and costs, see Revenue, Programming and Other Direct Costs of Services, and Other Operating Costs sections below.
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Consolidated Adjusted OIBDA
On a consolidated basis, Adjusted OIBDA is a non-U.S. GAAP measure. Adjusted OIBDA is the primary measure used by our CODM to evaluate segment operating performance. Adjusted OIBDA is also a key factor that is used by our internal decision makers to determine how to allocate resources to segments. Our internal decision makers believe Adjusted OIBDA is a meaningful measure because it represents a transparent view of our recurring operating performance that is unaffected by our capital structure and allows management to (i) readily view operating trends, (ii) perform analytical comparisons and benchmarking between segments and (iii) identify strategies to improve operating performance in the different countries in which we operate. We believe our Adjusted OIBDA measure is useful to investors because it is one of the bases for comparing our performance with the performance of other companies in the same or similar industries, although our measures may not be directly comparable to similar measures used by other public companies. Adjusted OIBDA should be viewed as a measure of operating performance that is a supplement to, and not a substitute for, operating income or loss, net earnings or loss and other U.S. GAAP measures of income or loss.
A reconciliation of total operating income, the nearest U.S. GAAP measure, to Adjusted OIBDA on a consolidated basis, is presented below for the periods indicated.
Year ended December 31,
2023 2022
in millions
Operating income $ 517.7 $ 86.5
Share-based compensation expense 88.7 93.5
Depreciation and amortization 1,008.3 910.7
Impairment, restructuring and other operating items, net 86.9 619.2
Consolidated Adjusted OIBDA $ 1,701.6 $ 1,709.9
The following table sets forth organic and non-organic changes in Adjusted OIBDA for the period indicated:
C&W Caribbean C&W Panama Liberty Networks Liberty Puerto Rico Liberty Costa Rica VTR Corporate Intersegment eliminations Consolidated
in millions
Adjusted OIBDA for the twelve months ending:
December 31, 2022 $ 535.2 $ 188.8 $ 276.3 $ 530.8 $ 134.7 $ 115.6 $ (71.5) $ — $ 1,709.9
Organic changes related to:
Revenue 0.3 30.3 3.6 (45.9) 21.2 — 1.3 (11.4) (0.6)
Programming and other direct costs 60.8 (27.8) (8.9) 55.0 4.9 — — 3.5 87.5
Other operating costs and expenses 0.6 34.8 (9.0) (54.4) 10.5 — (2.9) 7.9 (12.5)
Non-organic increases (decreases):
FX — — (0.5) — 31.8 — — — 31.3
Acquisition/disposition, net — 1.6 — — — (115.6) — — (114.0)
December 31, 2023 $ 596.9 $ 227.7 $ 261.5 $ 485.5 $ 203.1 $ — $ (73.1) $ — $ 1,701.6
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Adjusted OIBDA Margin
The following table sets forth the Adjusted OIBDA Margin of each of our reportable segments:
Year ended December 31,
2023 2022
%
C&W Caribbean 41.5 37.2
C&W Panama 30.7 29.4
Liberty Networks 57.7 61.3
Liberty Puerto Rico 34.2 36.3
Liberty Costa Rica 37.1 30.5
Adjusted OIBDA margin is impacted by organic changes in revenue, programming and other direct costs of services and other operating costs and expenses. Within our Liberty Puerto Rico, Liberty Costa Rica and C&W Panama segments, we incurred aggregate integration costs of $26 million during each of 2023 and 2022.
Revenue
Most of our segments derive their revenue primarily from (i) residential fixed services, including video, broadband internet and fixed-line telephony, (ii) mobile services and (iii) B2B enterprise services. Liberty Networks also provides wholesale services over its subsea and terrestrial fiber optic cable networks.
While not specifically discussed in the below explanations of the changes in revenue, we experience significant competition in all of our markets. Competition has an adverse impact on our ability to increase or maintain our RGUs and/or ARPU.
Variances in the subscription revenue that we receive from our customers are a function of (i) changes in the number of RGUs or mobile subscribers during the period and (ii) changes in ARPU. Changes in ARPU can be attributable to (i) changes in prices, (ii) changes in bundling or promotional discounts, (iii) changes in the tier of services selected, (iv) variances in subscriber usage patterns and (v) the overall mix of fixed and mobile products during the period. In the following discussion, we discuss ARPU changes in terms of the net impact of the above factors on the ARPU that is derived from our video, broadband internet, fixed-line telephony and mobile products.
The following table sets forth the organic and non-organic changes in revenue by reportable segment.
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease) Increase (decrease) from:
2023 2022 FX Acquisition (disposition), net Organic
in millions, except percentages
C&W Caribbean $ 1,437.0 $ 1,436.8 $ 0.2 $ (0.1) $ — $ 0.3
C&W Panama 742.6 642.7 99.9 — 69.6 30.3
Liberty Networks 453.3 450.8 2.5 (1.1) — 3.6
Liberty Puerto Rico 1,417.7 1,463.6 (45.9) — — (45.9)
Liberty Costa Rica 547.9 441.3 106.6 85.4 — 21.2
VTR — 450.6 (450.6) — (450.6) —
Corporate 23.5 22.2 1.3 — — 1.3
Intersegment eliminations (110.9) (99.4) (11.5) (0.1) — (11.4)
Total $ 4,511.1 $ 4,808.6 $ (297.5) $ 84.1 $ (381.0) $ (0.6)
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C&W Caribbean . C&W Caribbean’s revenue by major category is set forth below:
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease)
2023 2022 $ %
in millions, except percentages
Residential revenue:
Residential fixed revenue:
Subscription revenue $ 487.5 $ 484.3 $ 3.2 0.7
Non-subscription revenue 29.0 32.6 (3.6) (11.0)
Total residential fixed revenue 516.5 516.9 (0.4) (0.1)
Residential mobile revenue:
Service revenue 330.3 314.5 15.8 5.0
Interconnect, inbound roaming, equipment sales and other 78.8 67.9 10.9 16.1
Total residential mobile revenue 409.1 382.4 26.7 7.0
Total residential revenue 925.6 899.3 26.3 2.9
B2B revenue 511.4 537.5 (26.1) (4.9)
Total $ 1,437.0 $ 1,436.8 $ 0.2 —
The details of the changes in C&W Caribbean’s revenue during 2023, as compared to 2022, are set forth below (in millions):
Increase (decrease) in residential fixed subscription revenue due to change in:
Average number of RGUs (a) $ 4.1
ARPU (b) (0.9)
Decrease in residential fixed non-subscription revenue (c) (3.7)
Total decrease in residential fixed revenue (0.5)
Increase in residential mobile service revenue (d) 16.0
Increase in residential mobile interconnect, inbound roaming, equipment sales and other revenue (e) 10.9
Decrease in B2B revenue (f) (26.1)
Total organic increase 0.3
Impact of FX (0.1)
Total $ 0.2
(a) The increase is primarily due to higher average broadband internet RGUs partially offset by lower average video RGUs.
(b) The decrease is primarily due to the net impact of higher ARPU from broadband internet services more than offset by lower ARPU from video and fixed-line telephony services.
(c) The decrease is primarily attributable to (i) lower interconnect revenue and (ii) a decrease associated with lower sports content revenue.
(d) The increase is primarily attributable to higher average numbers of postpaid mobile subscribers, mostly due to growth from fixed-mobile convergence efforts.
(e) The increase is primarily attributable to an increase in inbound roaming driven by higher volumes of traffic.
(f) The decrease is attributable to the net effect of (i) the discontinuation of a non-core transit services arrangement at C&W Jamaica, (ii) higher fixed and managed services, primarily due to broadband internet services-related growth, and (iii) an increase in revenue associated with non-recurring projects.
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C&W Panama. C&W Panama’s revenue by major category is set forth below:
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease)
2023 2022 $ %
in millions, except percentages
Residential revenue:
Residential fixed revenue:
Subscription revenue $ 116.5 $ 102.8 $ 13.7 13.3
Non-subscription revenue 5.5 7.3 (1.8) (24.7)
Total residential fixed revenue 122.0 110.1 11.9 10.8
Residential mobile revenue:
Service revenue 260.6 218.6 42.0 19.2
Interconnect, inbound roaming, equipment sales and other 52.0 49.5 2.5 5.1
Total residential mobile revenue 312.6 268.1 44.5 16.6
Total residential revenue 434.6 378.2 56.4 14.9
B2B revenue 308.0 264.5 43.5 16.4
Total $ 742.6 $ 642.7 $ 99.9 15.5
The details of the changes in C&W Panama’s revenue during 2023, as compared to 2022, are set forth below (in millions):
Increase (decrease) in residential fixed subscription revenue due to change in:
Average number of RGUs (a) $ 10.7
ARPU (1.7)
Decrease in residential fixed non-subscription revenue (2.1)
Total increase in residential fixed revenue 6.9
Decrease in residential mobile service revenue (b) (1.1)
Decrease in residential mobile interconnect, inbound roaming, equipment sales and other revenue (c) (7.4)
Increase in B2B revenue (d) 31.9
Total organic increase 30.3
Impact of an acquisition 69.6
Total $ 99.9
(a) The increase is primarily due to higher average broadband internet and video RGUs.
(b) The decrease is primarily due to the net effect of (i) lower average numbers of prepaid mobile subscribers, (ii) higher ARPU from prepaid mobile services, mainly attributable to higher recharges per customer, and (iii) higher average numbers of postpaid mobile subscribers.
(c) The decrease is primary due to the net effect of (i) lower handset revenue, (ii) higher inbound roaming, and (iii) lower interconnect revenue, primarily due to lower traffic.
(d) The increase is primarily due to revenue from government-related projects.
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Liberty Networks . Liberty Networks’ revenue by major category is set forth below:
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease)
2023 2022 $ %
in millions, except percentages
B2B revenue:
Enterprise revenue $ 118.5 $ 113.7 $ 4.8 4.2
Wholesale revenue 334.8 337.1 (2.3) (0.7)
Total $ 453.3 $ 450.8 $ 2.5 0.6
The details of the changes in Liberty Networks’ revenue during 2023, as compared to 2022, are set forth below (in millions):
Increase in enterprise revenue (a) $ 5.3
Decrease in wholesale revenue (b) (1.7)
Total organic increase 3.6
Impact of FX (1.1)
Total $ 2.5
(a) The increase is primarily attributable to the net effect of (i) higher B2B connectivity revenue, (ii) a decrease attributable to our B2B operations that were sold to the Liberty Costa Rica segment in January 2023, (iii) growth in managed services and (iv) an increase associated with sales-type leases on CPE installed on long-term customer solutions.
(b) The decrease is primarily due to the net effect of (i) lower amortized prepaid capacity and operating and maintenance revenue driven by the cancellation of prepaid capacity contracts in prior periods, (ii) a decrease in revenue associated with the recognition of deferred revenue and penalties upon the termination or modification of prepaid capacity contracts, (iii) higher inter-segment revenue and (iv) an increase in non-recurring revenue related to a sales-type lease.
Liberty Puerto Rico. Liberty Puerto Rico’s revenue by major category is set forth below:
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease)
2023 2022 $ %
in millions, except percentages
Residential fixed revenue:
Subscription revenue $ 478.7 $ 457.3 $ 21.4 4.7
Non-subscription revenue 25.5 22.1 3.4 15.4
Total residential fixed revenue
504.2 479.4 24.8 5.2
Residential mobile revenue:
Service revenue 398.7 441.5 (42.8) (9.7)
Interconnect, inbound roaming, equipment sales and other 250.0 268.4 (18.4) (6.9)
Total residential mobile revenue 648.7 709.9 (61.2) (8.6)
Total residential revenue 1,152.9 1,189.3 (36.4) (3.1)
B2B revenue 224.3 220.6 3.7 1.7
Other revenue 40.5 53.7 (13.2) (24.6)
Total
$ 1,417.7 $ 1,463.6 $ (45.9) (3.1)
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The details of the changes in Liberty Puerto Rico’s revenue during 2023, as compared to 2022, are set forth below (in millions):
Increase in residential fixed subscription revenue due to change in:
Average number of RGUs (a) $ 16.0
ARPU (b) 5.4
Increase in residential fixed non-subscription revenue (c) 3.4
Total increase in residential fixed revenue 24.8
Decrease in residential mobile service revenue (d) (42.8)
Decrease in residential mobile interconnect, inbound roaming, equipment sales and other revenue (e) (18.4)
Increase in B2B revenue (f) 3.7
Decrease in other revenue (g) (13.2)
Total $ (45.9)
(a) The increase is primarily attributable to higher average broadband internet RGUs.
(b) The increase is primarily due to (i) higher ARPU from video services, as rate increases were only partly offset by customer downgrades to lower ARPU plans and (ii) the impact of credits issued to customers during 2022 as a result of (a) Hurricane Fiona and (b) power outages.
(c) The increase is primarily due to higher inventory sales.
(d) The decrease is primarily due to (i) lower ARPU from mobile services, primarily resulting from (a) a higher number of low-cost and discounted plans and (b) higher contract asset amortization, and (ii) a lower average number of mobile subscribers.
(e) The decrease is primarily driven by (i) lower inbound roaming revenue, including the impact of changing to a fixed contract for part of our inbound roaming traffic and (ii) lower equipment revenue driven by decreased sales in the fourth quarter of 2023.
(f) The increase is primarily due to the impact of credits issued to customers during the third quarter of 2022 as a result of Hurricane Fiona and higher revenue from new customers and fixed services.
(g) The decrease is primarily attributable to funds received from the FCC, which we receive in relationship to expanding and improving our fixed and mobile networks, related to (i) the impact from amounts we recognized during the third quarter of 2022 in USVI and (ii) a decline in the rate of funding beginning in the second half of 2023.
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Liberty Costa Rica . Liberty Costa Rica’s revenue by major category is set forth below:
Year ended December 31, Increase
2023 2022 $ %
in millions, except percentages
Residential revenue:
Residential fixed revenue:
Subscription revenue $ 144.3 $ 131.5 $ 12.8 9.7
Non-subscription revenue 14.3 5.1 9.2 180.4
Total residential fixed revenue 158.6 136.6 22.0 16.1
Residential mobile revenue:
Service revenue 242.1 195.1 47.0 24.1
Interconnect, inbound roaming, equipment sales and other 80.2 64.8 15.4 23.8
Total residential mobile revenue 322.3 259.9 62.4 24.0
Total residential revenue 480.9 396.5 84.4 21.3
B2B revenue 67.0 44.8 22.2 49.6
Total $ 547.9 $ 441.3 $ 106.6 24.2
The details of the changes in Liberty Costa Rica’s revenue during 2023, as compared to 2022, are set forth below (in millions):
Increase (decrease) in residential fixed subscription revenue due to change in:
Average number of RGUs (a) $ (2.4)
ARPU (b) (7.8)
Increase in residential fixed non-subscription revenue (c) 7.0
Total decrease in residential fixed revenue (3.2)
Increase in residential mobile service revenue (d) 8.5
Increase in residential mobile interconnect, inbound roaming, equipment sales and other revenue 2.7
Increase in B2B revenue (e) 13.2
Total organic increase 21.2
Impact of FX 85.4
Total $ 106.6
(a) The decrease is primarily due to the net impact of (i) lower average video RGUs and (ii) higher average fixed-line telephony RGUs.
(b) The decrease is primarily attributable to lower ARPU from video services and, to a lesser extent, broadband internet services, and telephony services. This decrease is in part due to (i) higher retention discounts, and (ii) declines in higher ARPU plans.
(c) The increase is primarily attributable to higher volumes of CPE sales.
(d) The increase is primarily due to the net effect of (i) higher average postpaid mobile subscribers, (ii) lower prepaid and postpaid mobile ARPU and (iii) higher average prepaid mobile subscribers.
(e) The increase is primarily attributable to (i) higher revenue from fixed services, which includes upfront revenue recognition associated with certain projects entered into during 2023, and (ii) higher revenue from mobile services. In addition, the increase is due to the B2B operations within our Liberty Networks segment that was acquired by the Liberty Costa Rica segment in January 2023.
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Programming and other direct costs of services
Programming and other direct costs of services include programming and copyright costs, interconnect and access costs, equipment costs, which primarily relate to costs of mobile handsets and other devices, project-related costs and other direct costs related to our operations. Programming and copyright costs, which represent a significant portion of our operating costs, may increase in future periods as a result of (i) higher costs associated with the expansion of our digital video content, including rights associated with ancillary product offerings and rights that provide for the broadcast of live sporting events, (ii) rate increases or (iii) growth in the number of our video subscribers.
Consolidated. The following table sets forth the organic and non-organic changes in programming and other direct costs of services on a consolidated basis.
Increase (decrease) from:
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease) An acquisition A disposition Organic
2023 2022 FX
in millions
Programming and copyright $ 237.2 $ 360.3 $ (123.1) $ 5.3 $ 1.0 $ (113.5) $ (15.9)
Interconnect 302.5 350.3 (47.8) 5.0 7.6 (21.9) (38.5)
Equipment 320.6 369.8 (49.2) 7.8 8.6 (2.2) (63.4)
Other 160.1 130.1 30.0 0.1 0.6 (1.0) 30.3
Total programming and other direct costs of services $ 1,020.4 $ 1,210.5 $ (190.1) $ 18.2 $ 17.8 $ (138.6) $ (87.5)
C&W Caribbean . The following table sets forth the organic and non-organic changes in programming and other direct costs of services for our C&W Caribbean segment.
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease) Increase (decrease) from:
2023 2022 FX Organic
in millions
Programming and copyright $ 71.5 $ 85.9 $ (14.4) $ — $ (14.4)
Interconnect 75.2 119.8 (44.6) — (44.6)
Equipment 49.0 42.5 6.5 (0.1) 6.6
Other 34.0 42.4 (8.4) — (8.4)
Total programming and other direct costs of services $ 229.7 $ 290.6 $ (60.9) $ (0.1) $ (60.8)
• Programming and copyright: The organic decrease is due in part to the net impact of (i) a decrease resulting from the renegotiation of certain content agreements, and (ii) the negative impact associated with the reassessment of a content-related accrual during 2022.
• Interconnect: The organic decrease is primarily due to the discontinuation of a non-core transit services arrangement at C&W Jamaica as of January 1, 2023.
• Equipment: The organic increase is primarily due to the net effect of (i) higher inventory write-offs and (ii) lower volumes of handset sales.
• Other: The organic decrease is primarily due to lower (i) B2B connectivity costs and (ii) managed service costs.
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C&W Panama . The following table sets forth the organic and non-organic changes in programming and other direct costs of services for our C&W Panama segment.
Increase (decrease) from:
Year ended December 31, Increase An acquisition
2023 2022 Organic
in millions
Programming and copyright $ 21.4 $ 18.5 $ 2.9 $ 1.0 $ 1.9
Interconnect 72.2 63.8 8.4 7.6 0.8
Equipment 41.6 38.2 3.4 8.6 (5.2)
Other 117.8 86.9 30.9 0.6 30.3
Total programming and other direct costs of services $ 253.0 $ 207.4 $ 45.6 $ 17.8 $ 27.8
• Equipment: The organic decrease is primarily due to lower volumes of mobile handsets.
• Other: The organic increase is primarily due to higher costs associated with certain government-related projects.
Liberty Networks . The following table sets forth the organic and non-organic changes in programming and other direct costs of services for our Liberty Networks segment.
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease) Increase (decrease) from:
2023 2022 FX Organic
in millions
Interconnect $ 49.3 $ 45.6 $ 3.7 $ (0.1) $ 3.8
Equipment 0.6 0.7 (0.1) — (0.1)
Other 18.8 13.7 5.1 (0.1) 5.2
Total programming and other direct costs of services $ 68.7 $ 60.0 $ 8.7 $ (0.2) $ 8.9
• Interconnect: The organic increase is primarily due to (i) higher inter-segment costs and (ii) higher backhaul costs associated with increases in connectivity revenue.
• Other: The organic increase is primarily due to (i) lower amounts of capitalizable costs associated with licenses, as part of a migration into contracts with shorter terms and more cloud-based arrangements, (ii) higher costs associated with sales-type leases on CPE installed on long-term customer solutions and (iii) increases in costs associated with software licenses.
Liberty Puerto Rico . The following table sets forth the changes in programming and other direct costs of services for our Liberty Puerto Rico segment.
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease)
2023 2022
in millions
Programming and copyright $ 112.4 $ 109.7 $ 2.7
Interconnect 93.3 84.3 9.0
Equipment 179.6 246.3 (66.7)
Other 2.1 2.1 —
Total programming and other direct costs of services $ 387.4 $ 442.4 $ (55.0)
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• Programming and copyright: The increase is primarily due to the net effect of higher programming rates and lower average subscribers.
• Interconnect: The increase is primarily due to higher roaming costs, including the impact of changing to a fixed contract for part of our inbound roaming traffic.
• Equipment: The decrease is primarily due to (i) lower handset sales due to changes in our subsidy programs, (ii) equipment credits for handset purchases that we began receiving in 2023, including an amount recognized during the first half of 2023 associated with handsets purchased prior to 2023, and (iii) lower equipment-related integration costs associated with the AT&T Acquisition.
Liberty Costa Rica . The following table sets forth the organic and non-organic changes in programming and other direct costs of services for our Liberty Costa Rica segment.
Increase (decrease) from:
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease) FX Organic
2023 2022
in millions
Programming and copyright $ 33.1 $ 33.9 $ (0.8) $ 5.3 $ (6.1)
Interconnect 33.1 32.8 0.3 5.1 (4.8)
Equipment 49.8 39.9 9.9 7.8 2.1
Other 4.2 — 4.2 0.3 3.9
Total programming and other direct costs of services $ 120.2 $ 106.6 $ 13.6 $ 18.5 $ (4.9)
• Programming and copyright: The organic decrease is primarily due the net effect of (i) the positive impact of FX associated with non-CRC denominated contracts, (ii) higher content-related costs, and (iii) lower programming costs associated with declines in video RGUs.
• Interconnect: The organic decrease is primarily due to (i) lower volumes of local and international traffic and (ii) the positive impact of FX on non-CRC denominated contracts.
• Equipment: The organic increase is primarily due to the net effect of (i) higher CPE and handset costs associated with sales growth and (ii) the positive impact of FX associated with non-CRC denominated handset costs.
• Other: The organic increase is primarily due to higher costs associated with certain B2B projects.
Other operating costs and expenses
Other operating costs and expenses set forth in the table below comprise the following cost categories:
• Personnel and contract labor-related costs, which primarily include salary-related and cash bonus expenses, net of capitalizable labor costs, and temporary contract labor costs;
• Network-related expenses, which primarily include costs related to network access, system power, core network, and CPE repair, maintenance and test costs;
• Service-related costs, which primarily include professional services, information technology-related services, audit, legal and other services;
• Commercial, which primarily includes sales and marketing costs, such as advertising, commissions and other sales and marketing-related costs, and customer care costs related to outsourced call centers;
• Facility, provision, franchise and other, which primarily includes facility-related costs, provision for bad debt expense, franchise-related fees, bank fees, insurance, vehicle-related, travel and entertainment and other operating-related costs; and
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• Share-based compensation expense that relates to (i) equity awards issued to our employees and Directors and (ii) certain bonus-related expenses that are paid in the form of equity.
Consolidated . The following table sets forth the organic and non-organic changes in other operating costs and expenses on a consolidated basis.
Increase (decrease) from:
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease) An acquisition A disposition Organic
2023 2022 FX
in millions
Personnel and contract labor $ 557.6 $ 597.7 $ (40.1) $ 4.7 $ 6.0 $ (41.8) $ (9.0)
Network-related 259.0 311.4 (52.4) 5.8 9.0 (55.7) (11.5)
Service-related 227.6 210.8 16.8 4.0 1.4 (24.0) 35.4
Commercial 181.1 226.0 (44.9) 9.1 9.8 (52.2) (11.6)
Facility, provision, franchise and other
563.8 542.3 21.5 11.0 24.0 (22.7) 9.2
Share-based compensation expense
88.7 93.5 (4.8) 0.3 — (7.6) 2.5
Total other operating costs and expenses
$ 1,877.8 $ 1,981.7 $ (103.9) $ 34.9 $ 50.2 $ (204.0) $ 15.0
For additional information regarding our share-based compensation, see Results of Operations (below Adjusted OIBDA) discussion and analysis below.
C&W Caribbean . The following table sets forth the organic and non-organic changes in other operating costs and expenses for our C&W Caribbean segment.
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease) Increase (decrease) from:
2023 2022 FX Organic
in millions
Personnel and contract labor $ 202.5 $ 204.6 $ (2.1) $ — $ (2.1)
Network-related 135.9 142.4 (6.5) — (6.5)
Service-related 76.5 72.7 3.8 — 3.8
Commercial 46.1 45.7 0.4 — 0.4
Facility, provision, franchise and other 149.4 145.6 3.8 — 3.8
Share-based compensation expense 16.8 20.1 (3.3) — (3.3)
Total other operating costs and expenses $ 627.2 $ 631.1 $ (3.9) $ — $ (3.9)
• Personnel and contract labor: The organic decrease is primarily due to the net effect of (i) lower costs resulting from increases in capitalized labor, and (ii) salary increases.
• Network-related: The organic decrease is primarily due to declines associated with lower (i) truck rolls, (ii) system power costs and (iii) maintenance costs. These declines were partially offset by higher capacity charges associated with the use of Liberty Networks’ subsea network. In addition, the decrease is impacted by lower leased line costs resulting from the renegotiation of pole rental contracts during 2023.
• Service-related: The organic increase is primarily due to increases in professional services in connection with customer value propositions within certain of our markets.
• Facility, provision, franchise and other: The organic increase is primarily due to the net effect of (i) lower bad debt provisions driven by improved collections, (ii) higher travel-related expenses and (iii) higher franchise fees, including
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the negative impact of an accrual release during the first quarter of 2022 related to a favorable court ruling associated with an industry levy on franchise fees.
C&W Panama. The following table sets forth the organic and non-organic changes in other operating costs and expenses for our C&W Panama segment.
Increase (decrease) from:
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease) An Acquisition
2023 2022 Organic
in millions
Personnel and contract labor $ 81.7 $ 77.6 $ 4.1 $ 6.0 $ (1.9)
Network-related 53.9 47.8 6.1 9.0 (2.9)
Service-related 17.2 15.1 2.1 1.4 0.7
Commercial 25.5 27.2 (1.7) 9.8 (11.5)
Facility, provision, franchise and other 83.6 78.8 4.8 24.0 (19.2)
Share-based compensation expense 2.7 4.3 (1.6) — (1.6)
Total other operating costs and expenses $ 264.6 $ 250.8 $ 13.8 $ 50.2 $ (36.4)
• Network-related: The organic decrease is primarily due to the net effect of (i) lower system power and maintenance costs and (ii) higher capacity charges associated with the use of Liberty Networks’ subsea network.
• Commercial: The organic decrease is primarily due to (i) lower third-party sales commissions, mainly resulting from integration-related activities, and (ii) lower marketing costs.
• Facility, provision, franchise and other: The organic decrease is primarily due to (i) lower office and facility-related costs, mainly resulting from integration efforts and (ii) lower bad debt expense, mostly driven by factoring of certain receivables.
Liberty Networks. The following table sets forth the organic and non-organic changes in other operating costs and expenses for our Liberty Networks segment.
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease) Increase (decrease) from:
2023 2022 FX Organic
in millions
Personnel and contract labor $ 45.0 $ 43.6 $ 1.4 $ (0.4) $ 1.8
Network-related 45.7 43.3 2.4 — 2.4
Service-related 6.1 4.5 1.6 — 1.6
Commercial 1.7 1.4 0.3 — 0.3
Facility, provision, franchise and other 24.6 21.7 2.9 — 2.9
Share-based compensation expense 3.1 3.4 (0.3) (0.1) (0.2)
Total other operating costs and expenses $ 126.2 $ 117.9 $ 8.3 $ (0.5) $ 8.8
• Personnel and contract labor: The organic increase is primarily due to higher salary-related expenses.
• Network-related: The organic increase is primarily related to higher repair and maintenance costs.
• Facility, provision, franchise and other: The organic increase is primarily due to higher bank and tax-related fees.
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Liberty Puerto Rico . The following table sets forth the changes in other operating costs and expenses for our Liberty Puerto Rico segment.
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease)
2023 2022
in millions
Personnel and contract labor $ 154.9 $ 162.2 $ (7.3)
Network-related 52.5 51.7 0.8
Service-related 79.5 46.1 33.4
Commercial 51.2 46.5 4.7
Facility, provision, franchise and other 206.7 183.9 22.8
Share-based compensation expense 6.2 7.3 (1.1)
Total other operating costs and expenses $ 551.0 $ 497.7 $ 53.3
• Personnel and contract labor: The decrease is primarily driven by the net effect of (i) a decline resulting from the receipt of a payroll tax credits during 2023 awarded to businesses that continued to pay employees or that experienced significant declines in gross receipts during the COVID-19 pandemic and (ii) higher amortization of deferred commissions in connection with the AT&T Acquisition.
• Network-related: The increase is primarily due to the net effect of (i) an increase in maintenance costs and (ii) a decline resulting from costs associated with Hurricane Fiona incurred during 2022.
• Service-related: The increase is primarily due to higher (i) professional services charges, including (a) the impact of certain accrual adjustments during 2022 and (b) an increase in service-related integration costs, (ii) IT-related services, including higher software license costs, and (iii) fees charged from our corporate operations.
• Commercial: The increase is primarily driven by higher marketing costs.
• Facility, provision, franchise and other: The increase is primarily related to higher (i) bad debt expense, including the impact from the benefit during 2022 associated with lower expected credit loss rates established, (ii) rent expense and (iii) energy costs.
Liberty Costa Rica . The following table sets forth the organic and non-organic changes in other operating costs and expenses for our Liberty Costa Rica segment.
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease) Increase (decrease) from:
2023 2022 FX Organic
in millions
Personnel and contract labor $ 32.2 $ 27.5 $ 4.7 $ 5.0 $ (0.3)
Network-related 39.1 33.2 5.9 6.2 (0.3)
Service-related 25.1 23.1 2.0 3.9 (1.9)
Commercial 56.5 53.0 3.5 9.1 (5.6)
Facility, provision, franchise and other 71.7 63.2 8.5 10.9 (2.4)
Share-based compensation expense 1.7 2.2 (0.5) 0.3 (0.8)
Total other operating costs and expenses $ 226.3 $ 202.2 $ 24.1 $ 35.4 $ (11.3)
• Service-related: The organic decrease is primarily due to professional services incurred during 2022 related to a software implementation.
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• Commercial: The organic decrease is primarily due to (i) integration costs incurred during 2022 related to rebranding associated with the Liberty Telecomunicaciones Acquisition and (ii) an increase in deferred commissions associated with CPE sales .
• Facility, provision, franchise and other: The organic decrease is primarily due to the net impact of (i) the positive impact of FX associated with non-CRC denominated contracts and (ii) the negative impact of purchase accounting adjustments associated with the Liberty Telecomunicaciones Acquisition that decreased rent expense during 2022.
Corporate . The following table sets forth the changes in other operating costs and expenses for our corporate operations.
Year ended December 31, Increase (decrease)
2023 2022
in millions
Personnel and contract labor $ 41.4 $ 40.5 $ 0.9
Network-related — 0.7 (0.7)
Service-related 23.2 25.3 (2.1)
Facility, provision, franchise and other 32.4 27.6 4.8
Share-based compensation expense 58.0 48.6 9.4
Total other operating costs and expenses $ 155.0 $ 142.7 $ 12.3
• Personnel and contract labor: The increase is primarily attributable to the net effect of (i) higher salaries and related personnel costs, mainly resulting from higher staffing levels in our operations center in Panama and (ii) an increase in capitalized labor costs.
• Facility, provision, franchise and other: The increase is primarily due to insurance costs recognized in 2023 associated with cable breaks and business interruption claims submitted by our Liberty Puerto Rico business.
Results of operations (below Adjusted OIBDA)
Share-based compensation expense (included in other operating costs and expenses)
Share-based compensation expense remained relatively flat during 2023, as compared to 2022.
For additional information regarding our share-based compensation, see note 15 to our consolidated financial statements.
Depreciation and amortization
Our depreciation and amortization expense increased $98 million or 11% during 2023, as compared to 2022, primarily due to the net effect of (i) an increase in property and equipment additions, primarily associated with baseline related additions, the installation of CPE and the expansion and upgrade of our networks and other capital initiatives, (ii) a decrease associated with certain assets becoming fully depreciated, (iii) a decrease associated with customer relationship assets becoming fully amortized in Liberty Puerto Rico and (iv) an increase at C&W Panama resulting from the Claro Panama Acquisition.
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Impairment, restructuring and other operating items, net
Year ended December 31,
2023 2022
in millions
Impairment charges (a) $ 67.0 $ 563.8
Restructuring charges (b) 33.6 34.3
Other operating items, net (c) (13.7) 21.1
Total $ 86.9 $ 619.2
(a) The 2023 amount primarily relates to the impairment of certain operating lease right-of-use assets, predominantly related to decommissioned tower leases at C&W Panama. The 2022 amount primarily consists of goodwill impairment charges associated with certain reporting units within the C&W Caribbean segment.
(b) The amounts include employee severance and termination costs related to reorganization activities, primarily at C&W Caribbean and C&W Panama.
(c) The 2023 amount primarily includes the net effect of gains on asset dispositions and direct acquisition costs. The 2022 amount includes direct acquisition costs, primarily related to the Chile JV Transaction and the Claro Panama Acquisition.
Interest expense
Our interest expense increased $45 million during 2023, as compared to 2022. The increase is primarily attributable to the net effect of (i) higher weighted-average interest rates and (ii) lower average outstanding debt balances, primarily resulting from the disposition of the Chile JV Entities in October 2022.
For additional information regarding our outstanding indebtedness, see note 10 to our consolidated financial statements.
It is possible that the interest rates on (i) any new borrowings could be higher than the current interest rates on our existing indebtedness and (ii) our variable-rate indebtedness could increase in future periods. As further discussed in note 7 to our consolidated financial statements and under Item 7A. Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosures about Market Risk below, we use derivative instruments to manage our interest rate risks.
Realized and unrealized gains or losses on derivative instruments, net
Our realized and unrealized gains or losses on derivative instruments primarily include (i) unrealized changes in the fair values of our derivative instruments that are non-cash in nature until such time as the derivative contracts are fully or partially settled and (ii) realized gains or losses upon the full or partial settlement of the derivative contracts. The details of our realized and unrealized gains (losses) on derivative instruments, net, are as follows:
Year ended December 31,
2023 2022
in millions
Interest rate and cross-currency derivative contracts (a) $ 27.3 $ 404.3
Foreign currency forward contracts and other (b) (30.6) (13.5)
Weather Derivatives (c) (30.9) (31.4)
Total $ (34.2) $ 359.4
(a) The gains during 2023 and 2022 are primarily attributable to the net effect of (i) changes in interest rates and (ii) for the 2022 period, changes in FX rates predominantly due to changes in the value of the CLP relative to the U.S. dollar prior to the disposition of the Chile JV Entities.
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(b) The losses during 2023 and 2022 are primarily attributable to changes in FX rates due to (i) the value of the CRC relative to the U.S. dollar and (ii) for the 2022 period, the value of the CLP relative to the U.S. dollar prior to the disposition of the Chile JV Entities.
(c) Amounts represent the amortization of premiums associated with our Weather Derivatives.
For additional information concerning our derivative instruments, see notes 4 and 7 to our consolidated financial statements and Item 7A. Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosures about Market Risk below.
Foreign currency transaction gains or losses, net
Our foreign currency transaction gains or losses primarily result from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in currencies other than the underlying functional currency of the applicable entity. Unrealized foreign currency transaction gains or losses are computed based on period-end exchange rates and are non-cash in nature until such time as the amounts are settled. The details of our foreign currency transaction gains (losses), net, are as follows:
Year ended December 31,
2023 2022
in millions
U.S. dollar-denominated debt issued by non-U.S.dollar functional currency entities (a) $ 54.4 $ (158.0)
Intercompany payables and receivables denominated in a currency other than the entity’s functional currency
7.8 (7.2)
Other (b) 8.1 (29.1)
Total $ 70.3 $ (194.3)
(a) The net gain during 2023 is primarily related to a CRC functional currency entity. The net loss during 2022 is primarily related to a CLP functional currency entity prior to the disposition of the Chile JV Entities in October 2022.
(b) Primarily includes (i) third-party receivables and payables denominated in a currency other than an entity’s functional currency and (ii) cash denominated in a currency other than an entity’s functional currency.
Gains or losses on debt extinguishments, net
Our gains or losses on debt extinguishments generally include (i) premiums or discounts associated with redemptions and/or repurchases of debt, (ii) the write-off of unamortized deferred financing costs, premiums and/or discounts and/or (iii) breakage fees.
We recognized gains (losses) on debt extinguishment, net, of ($4 million) and $41 million during 2023 and 2022, respectively. The net loss during the 2023 period is primarily due to the net effect of (i) losses associated with refinancing activity at Liberty Costa Rica during January 2023 and (ii) net gains associated with the partial repurchases of the Convertible Notes. The gains during the 2022 period are associated with the buyback of certain VTR debt at fair value prior to the disposition of the Chile JV Entities.
For additional information concerning our losses on debt modification and extinguishment, see note 10 to our consolidated financial statements.
Gain on Chile JV Transaction
In connection with the Chile JV Transaction, we recognized a pre-tax gain during 2022 of $169 million. For additional information, see note 6 to our consolidated financial statements.
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Other income or expense, net
We recognized other expense, net, of $11 million and $28 million during 2023 and 2022, respectively. The expense during 2022 primarily relates to impairment of a cost method investment.
Income tax benefit or expense
Liberty Latin America was formed as a corporation in Bermuda where the Company has a “statutory” or “expected” tax rate of 0% for the 2023 and 2022 tax years. However, a majority of our subsidiaries operate in jurisdictions where income tax is imposed at local applicable statutory rates. For additional information, see note 16 to our consolidated financial statements.
We recognized income tax expense of $24 million and $85 million during 2023 and 2022, respectively.
The income tax expense attributable to our loss before income taxes during 2023 differs from the amounts computed using the statutory tax rate, primarily due to the detrimental effects of (i) net increases in valuation allowances, (ii) permanent tax differences, such as non-deductible expenses, (iii) expiration of deferred tax assets (which are entirely offset by valuation allowance), and (iv) inclusion of withholding taxes on cross-border payments and capital gains tax. These negative impacts to our effective tax rate were partially offset by the beneficial effects of (i) permanent tax differences, such as non-taxable income, (ii) effect of rate changes (but which are nearly entirely offset by valuation allowance), (iii) jurisdictional rate differences, (iv) effect of tax credits and (v) changes in uncertain tax positions.
The income tax expense attributable to our loss before income taxes during 2022 differs from the amounts computed using the statutory tax rate, primarily due to the detrimental effects of (i) permanent tax differences, such as non deductible goodwill impairment and other non-deductible expenses, (ii) effect of rate changes (but which are nearly entirely offset by valuation allowance), (iii) changes in uncertain tax positions, (iv) inclusion of withholding taxes on cross-border payments, (v) expiration of deferred tax assets (which are entirely offset by valuation allowance), and (vi) tax effect of the enactment of a Barbados Pandemic Contribution Levy. These negative impacts to our effective tax rate were partially offset by the beneficial effects of (i) net decreases in valuation allowances, (ii) permanent tax differences, such as non-taxable income, (iii) jurisdictional rate differences, and (iv) effect of tax credits.
Net earnings or loss
The following table sets forth selected summary financial information of our net loss:
Year ended December 31,
2023 2022
in millions
Operating income $ 517.7 $ 86.5
Net non-operating expenses $ (580.1) $ (209.5)
Income tax expense $ (24.4) $ (84.8)
Net loss $ (86.8) $ (207.8)
Gains or losses associated with (i) changes in the fair values of derivative instruments and (ii) movements in foreign currency exchange rates are subject to a high degree of volatility and, as such, any gains from these sources do not represent a reliable source of income. In the absence of significant gains in the future from these sources or from other non-operating items, our ability to achieve earnings is largely dependent on our ability to increase our aggregate Adjusted OIBDA to a level that more than offsets the aggregate amount of our (i) share-based compensation expense, (ii) depreciation and amortization, (iii) impairment, restructuring and other operating items, (iv) interest expense, (v) other non-operating expenses and (vi) income tax expense.
Due largely to the fact that we seek to maintain our debt at levels that provide for attractive equity returns, as discussed under Liquidity and Capital Resources—Capitalization below, we expect that we will continue to report significant levels of interest expense for the foreseeable future.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources and Uses of Cash
As of December 31, 2023, we have three primary “borrowing groups,” which include the respective restricted parent and subsidiary entities of C&W, Liberty Puerto Rico and Liberty Costa Rica. Our borrowing groups, which typically generate cash from operating activities, held a significant portion of our consolidated cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2023. Our ability to access the liquidity of these and other subsidiaries may be limited by tax and legal considerations, the presence of noncontrolling interests, foreign currency exchange restrictions with respect to certain C&W subsidiaries and other factors. For details of the restrictions on our subsidiaries to make payments to us through dividends, loans or other distributions see note 10 to our consolidated financial statements.
Cash and cash equivalents
The details of the U.S. dollar equivalent balances of our cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2023 are set forth in the following table (in millions):
Cash and cash equivalents held by:
Liberty Latin America and unrestricted subsidiaries:
Liberty Latin America (a) $ 27.9
Unrestricted subsidiaries (b) 72.4
Total Liberty Latin America and unrestricted subsidiaries 100.3
Borrowing groups (c):
C&W (d) 737.9
Liberty Puerto Rico 119.9
Liberty Costa Rica 30.5
Total borrowing groups 888.3
Total cash and cash equivalents
$ 988.6
(a) Represents the amount held by Liberty Latin America on a standalone basis.
(b) Represents the aggregate amount held by subsidiaries of Liberty Latin America that are outside of our borrowing groups. All of these companies rely on funds provided by our borrowing groups to satisfy their liquidity needs.
(c) Represents the aggregate amounts held by the parent entity of the applicable borrowing group and their restricted subsidiaries.
(d) Includes $145 million and $55 million of cash held by operations in C&W Panama and C&W Bahamas, respectively.
Liquidity and capital resources of Liberty Latin America and its unrestricted subsidiaries
Our current sources of corporate liquidity include (i) cash and cash equivalents held by Liberty Latin America and, subject to certain tax and legal considerations, Liberty Latin America’s unrestricted subsidiaries, and (ii) interest and dividend income received on our and, subject to certain tax and legal considerations, our unrestricted subsidiaries’ cash and cash equivalents and investments. From time to time, Liberty Latin America and its unrestricted subsidiaries may also receive (i) proceeds in the form of distributions or loan repayments from Liberty Latin America’s borrowing groups upon (a) the completion of recapitalizations, refinancings, asset sales or similar transactions by these entities or (b) the accumulation of excess cash from operations or other means, (ii) proceeds upon the disposition of investments and other assets of Liberty Latin America and its unrestricted subsidiaries and (iii) proceeds in connection with the incurrence of debt by Liberty Latin America or its unrestricted subsidiaries or the issuance of equity securities by Liberty Latin America. No assurance can be given that any external funding would be available to Liberty Latin America or its unrestricted subsidiaries on favorable terms, or at all. As noted above, various factors may limit our ability to access the cash of our borrowing groups.
Our corporate liquidity requirements include (i) corporate general and administrative expenses and (ii) other liquidity needs that may arise from time to time. In addition, Liberty Latin America and its unrestricted subsidiaries may require cash in connection with (i) the repayment of third-party and intercompany debt, (ii) the satisfaction of contingent liabilities, (iii)
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acquisitions and other investment opportunities, (iv) the repurchase of debt securities, (v) tax payments or (vi) any funding requirements of our consolidated subsidiaries.
During 2023, the aggregate value of our share repurchases was $118 million. For additional information regarding our Share Repurchase Programs, see note 12 to our consolidated financial statements and above Part II—Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities .
Liquidity and capital resources of borrowing groups
The cash and cash equivalents of our borrowing groups are detailed in the table above. In addition to cash and cash equivalents, the primary sources of liquidity of our borrowing groups are cash provided by operations and borrowing availability under their respective debt instruments. For the details of the borrowing availability of our borrowing groups at December 31, 2023, see note 10 to our consolidated financial statements. The aforementioned sources of liquidity may be supplemented in certain cases by contributions and/or loans from Liberty Latin America and its unrestricted subsidiaries. The liquidity of our borrowing groups generally is used to fund capital expenditures, debt service requirements and income tax payments. From time to time, our borrowing groups may also require liquidity in connection with (i) acquisitions and other investment opportunities, (ii) loans to Liberty Latin America, (iii) capital distributions to Liberty Latin America and other equity owners or (iv) the satisfaction of contingent liabilities. No assurance can be given that any external funding would be available to our borrowing groups on favorable terms, or at all.
For additional information regarding our cash flows, see the discussion under Liquidity and Capital Resources—Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows below.
Capitalization
We seek to maintain our debt at levels that are expected to provide for attractive equity returns without assuming undue risk. When it is cost effective, we generally seek to match the denomination of the borrowings of our subsidiaries with the functional currency of the operations that support the respective borrowings. As further discussed under Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk and in note 7 to our consolidated financial statements, we also use derivative instruments to mitigate foreign currency and interest rate risks associated with our debt instruments.
Our ability to service or refinance our debt and, where applicable, to maintain compliance with the leverage covenants in the credit agreements of our borrowing groups is dependent primarily on our ability to maintain covenant EBITDA of our operating subsidiaries, as specified by our subsidiaries’ debt agreements ( Covenant EBITDA ), and to achieve adequate returns on our property and equipment additions and acquisitions. In addition, our ability to obtain additional debt financing is limited by incurrence-based and/or maintenance-based leverage covenants contained in the various debt instruments of our borrowing groups. For example, if the Covenant EBITDA of one of our borrowing groups were to decline, our ability to support or obtain additional debt in that borrowing group could be limited. No assurance can be given that we would have sufficient sources of liquidity, or that any external funding would be available on favorable terms, or at all, to fund any such required repayment. At December 31, 2023, each of our borrowing groups was in compliance with its debt covenants. We do not anticipate any instances of non-compliance with respect to the debt covenants of our borrowing groups that would have a material adverse impact on our liquidity during the next 12 months.
At December 31, 2023, the outstanding principal amount of our debt, together with our finance lease obligations aggregated $8,248 million, including $582 million that is classified as current in our consolidated balance sheet and $7,599 million that is not due until 2027 or thereafter. At December 31, 2023, $8,027 million of our debt and finance lease obligations have been borrowed or incurred by our subsidiaries. Included in the outstanding principal amount of our debt at December 31, 2023 is (i) $299 million of vendor financing obligations, which we use to finance certain of our operating expenses and property and equipment additions and are generally due within one year, other than for certain licensing arrangements that generally are due over the term of the related license, and (ii) $244 million of finance obligations related to the Tower Transactions. For additional information concerning our debt, including our debt maturities, see note 10 to our consolidated financial statements.
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The weighted average interest rate in effect at December 31, 2023 for all borrowings outstanding pursuant to each debt instrument, including any applicable margin, was 7.1%. The interest rate is generally based on stated rates and does not include the impact of derivative instruments, deferred financing costs, original issue premiums or discounts and commitment fees, all of which affect our overall cost of borrowing. The weighted average impact of the derivative instruments on our borrowing costs at December 31, 2023 was as follows:
Borrowing group Decrease to borrowing costs
C&W (1.7) %
Liberty Puerto Rico (0.8) %
Liberty Costa Rica — %
Liberty Latin America borrowing groups (1.3) %
Including the effects of derivative instruments, original issue premiums or discounts, including the discount on the Convertible Notes associated with the instrument’s conversion option, and commitment fees, but excluding the impact of financing costs, the weighted average interest rate on our indebtedness was 6.0% at December 31, 2023.
We believe that we have sufficient resources to repay or refinance the current portion of our debt and finance lease obligations and to fund our foreseeable liquidity requirements during the next 12 months. However, as our debt maturities grow in later years, we anticipate that we will seek to refinance or otherwise extend our debt maturities. No assurance can be given that we will be able to complete refinancing transactions or otherwise extend our debt maturities. In this regard, it is difficult to predict how political, economic and social conditions, sovereign debt concerns or any adverse regulatory developments will impact the credit and equity markets we access and our future financial position. Our ability to access debt financing on favorable terms, or at all, could be adversely impacted by (i) the financial failure of any of our counterparties, which could (a) reduce amounts available under committed credit facilities and (b) adversely impact our ability to access cash deposited with any failed financial institution, and (ii) tightening of the credit markets. In addition, any weakness in the equity markets could make it less attractive to use our shares to satisfy contingent or other obligations, and sustained or increased competition, particularly in combination with adverse economic or regulatory developments, could have an unfavorable impact on our cash flows and liquidity.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
General. Our cash flows are subject to variations due to FX. For further information, see related discussion under Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk—Foreign Currency Risk below.
Summary. Our 2023 and 2022 consolidated statements of cash flows are summarized as follows:
Year ended December 31,
2023 2022 Change
in millions
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 897.0 $ 868.8 $ 28.2
Net cash used by investing activities (615.8) (1,122.6) 506.8
Net cash used by financing activities (62.4) (29.2) (33.2)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (7.9) (2.3) (5.6)
Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 210.9 $ (285.3) $ 496.2
Operating Activities. The increase in cash provided by operating activities is primarily due to the net effect of (i) an increase resulting from lower net derivative payments, (ii) an increase associated with lower tax payments, (iii) a decrease associated with higher interest payments and (iv) a decrease associated with a decline in Adjusted OIBDA and related working capital items.
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Investing Activities. The cash used by investing activities during 2023 primarily relates to (i) capital expenditures, net, as further discussed below, and (ii) the purchase of additional investments made during the year. The cash used during 2022 primarily includes the net effect of (i) capital expenditures, net, as further discussed below, (ii) the Claro Panama Acquisition and BBVI Acquisition and (iii) cash outflow upon the disposition the Chile JV Entities.
The capital expenditures, net, that we report in our consolidated statements of cash flows, which relates to cash paid for property and equipment, does not include amounts that are financed under capital-related vendor financing or finance lease arrangements. Instead, these amounts are reflected as non-cash additions to our property and equipment when the underlying assets are delivered and as repayments of debt when the principal is repaid. In this discussion, we refer to (i) our capital expenditures, net, as reported in our consolidated statements of cash flows, and (ii) our total property and equipment additions, which include our capital expenditures, net, on an accrual basis and amounts financed under capital-related vendor financing or finance lease arrangements.
A reconciliation of our property and equipment additions to our capital expenditures, net, as reported in our consolidated statements of cash flows, is set forth below:
Year ended December 31,
2023 2022
in millions
Property and equipment additions $ 730.9 $ 816.3
Assets acquired under capital-related vendor financing arrangements (143.8) (161.1)
Changes in current liabilities related to capital expenditures and other (2.1) 4.9
Capital expenditures, net $ 585.0 $ 660.1
The decrease in our property and equipment additions during the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to 2022, is primarily due to the net effect of (i) a decrease associated with the disposition of the Chile JV Entities in October 2022, and (ii) an increase related to baseline additions and new build activity. During the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, our property and equipment additions represented 16.2% and 17.0% of revenue, respectively.
Financing Activities. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we used $62 million of cash from financing activities, primarily due to the net impact of (i) $137 million in net debt borrowings, including $244 million of proceeds from the Tower Transactions, as further described in note 10 to our consolidated financial statements, (ii) $118 million of cash outflows associated with the repurchase of Liberty Latin America common shares, (iii) $75 million in payments related to distributions to noncontrolling interest owners in C&W Panama, C&W Bahamas and Liberty Costa Rica, and (iii) $18 million of payments for financing costs and debt premiums, primarily associated with refinancing activity at Liberty Costa Rica. During 2022, we used $29 million of cash from financing activities, primarily due to $170 million associated with the repurchase of Liberty Latin America common shares, partially offset by (i) $98 million of net cash received primarily related to the settlement of certain cross currency swaps at VTR prior to the disposition of the Chile JV Entities and (ii) $61 million of net borrowings of debt, which include the impact of $48 million of cash used to extinguish debt at VTR.
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
In the ordinary course of business, we may provide (i) indemnifications to our lenders, our vendors and certain other parties and (ii) performance and/or financial guarantees to local municipalities, our customers and vendors. Historically, these arrangements have not resulted in our company making any material payments and we do not believe that they will result in material payments in the future.
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Contractual Commitments
The following table sets forth the U.S. dollar equivalents of our debt and certain other contractual obligations and commitments as of December 31, 2023.
Payments due by period
Total Less than
1 year 1-3 years 3-5 years More than
5 years
in millions
Debt (excluding interest) $ 8,242.2 $ 586.9 $ 59.9 $ 5,498.9 $ 2,096.5
Operating leases 769.7 123.0 218.2 167.7 260.8
Other (a) 97.5 52.3 27.4 14.5 3.3
Total (b) $ 9,109.4 $ 762.2 $ 305.5 $ 5,681.1 $ 2,360.6
Projected cash interest payments on debt and finance lease obligations (c) $ 2,870.6 $ 586.5 $ 1,114.2 $ 797.1 $ 372.8
(a) Amounts primarily represent (i) guaranteed minimum commitments associated with (a) programming fees under multi-year contracts typically based on a rate per customer or stated annual fee and (b) our CPE and mobile handset device contractual obligations, and (ii) finance leases, excluding interest.
(b) The commitments included in this table do not reflect any liabilities that are included in our December 31, 2023 consolidated balance sheet other than debt, finance lease obligations and operating lease obligations. Our liability for uncertain tax positions, including accrued interest, in the various jurisdictions in which we operate ($51 million at December 31, 2023) has been excluded from the table as the amount and timing of any related payments are not subject to reasonable estimation. For additional information regarding our liability for uncertain tax positions, see note 16 to our consolidated financial statements.
(c) Amounts are based on interest rates, interest payment dates, commitment fees and contractual maturities in effect as of December 31, 2023. These amounts are presented for illustrative purposes only and will likely differ from the actual cash payments required in future periods. In addition, the amounts presented do not include the impact of our derivative contracts.
For information concerning our operating leases, debt and finance lease obligations and commitments, see notes 9, 10 and 19, respectively, to our consolidated financial statements.
In addition to the commitments set forth in the table above, we have commitments under (i) derivative instruments and (ii) defined benefit plans and similar agreements, pursuant to which we expect to make payments in future periods. For information regarding projected cash flows associated with our derivative instruments, see Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk—Projected Cash Flows Associated with Derivative Instruments below . For information regarding our derivative instruments, including the net cash paid or received in connection with these instruments during 2023, 2022 and 2021, see note 7 to our consolidated financial statements. For information regarding our defined benefit plans, see note 11 to our consolidated financial statements.
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Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates
In connection with the preparation of our consolidated financial statements, we make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenue and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Critical accounting policies are defined as those policies that are reflective of significant judgments, estimates and uncertainties, which would potentially result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions. We believe the following accounting policies are critical in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements because of the judgment necessary to account for these matters and the significant estimates involved, which are susceptible to change:
• Impairment of property and equipment and intangible assets (including goodwill); and
• Fair value measurements in acquisition accounting.
For additional information concerning our significant accounting policies, see note 3 to our consolidated financial statements.
Impairment of Property and Equipment and Intangible Assets
The aggregate carrying value of our property and equipment and intangible assets (including goodwill) that was held for use comprised 72% of our total assets at December 31, 2023.
When circumstances warrant, we review the carrying amounts of our property and equipment and our intangible assets (other than goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets) to determine whether such carrying amounts continue to be recoverable. Such changes in circumstance may include (i) the impact of natural disasters such as hurricanes, (ii) an expectation of a sale or disposal of a long-lived asset or asset group, (iii) adverse changes in market or competitive conditions, (iv) an adverse change in legal factors or business climate in the markets in which we operate and (v) operating or cash flow losses. For purposes of impairment testing, long-lived assets are grouped at the lowest level for which cash flows are largely independent of other assets and liabilities, generally at or below the reporting unit level (see below). If the carrying amount of the asset or asset group is greater than the expected undiscounted cash flows to be generated by such asset or asset group, an impairment adjustment is recognized. Such adjustment is measured by the amount that the carrying value of such asset or asset group exceeds its fair value. We generally measure fair value by considering (i) sale prices for similar assets, (ii) discounted estimated future cash flows using an appropriate discount rate and/or (iii) estimated replacement cost. Assets to be disposed of are recorded at the lower of their carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell.
We evaluate goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets (primarily cable television franchise rights and spectrum licenses) for impairment at least annually on July 1 and whenever facts and circumstances indicate that the fair value of a reporting unit or an indefinite-lived intangible asset may be less than its carrying value. When evaluating impairment with respect to goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangibles, we first make a qualitative assessment to determine if the goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangible may be impaired. In the case of goodwill, if it is more-likely-than-not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying value, we then compare the fair value of the reporting unit to its respective carrying amount. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below an operating segment (referred to as a “component”). Goodwill impairment is recorded as the excess of a reporting unit’s carrying value over its fair value and is charged to operations. With respect to other indefinite-lived intangible assets, if it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset is less than its carrying value, we then estimate its fair value and any excess of the carrying value over the fair value is also charged to operations as an impairment loss.
When required, considerable management judgment is necessary to estimate the fair value of reporting units and underlying long-lived and indefinite-lived assets. We typically determine fair value using an income-based approach (discounted cash flows) based on assumptions in our long-range business plans. With respect to our discounted cash flow analysis used in the income-based approach, the timing and amount of future cash flows under these business plans require estimates of, among other items, subscriber growth and retention rates, rates charged per product, expected gross margins and Adjusted OIBDA margins and expected property and equipment additions. The development of these cash flows, and the discount rate applied to the cash flows, is subject to inherent uncertainties, and actual results could vary significantly from such estimates. Our determination of the discount rate is based on a weighted average cost of capital approach, which uses a market participant’s cost of equity and after-tax cost of debt and reflects certain risks inherent in the future cash flows.
We did not record goodwill impairments during 2023. During 2022 and 2021, we recorded $555 million and $605 million, respectively, of goodwill impairments related to C&W Caribbean. For additional information regarding certain impairments recorded during 2023, 2022 and 2021, see notes 4 and 8 to our consolidated financial statements.
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Fair Value Measurements in Acquisition Accounting
The application of acquisition accounting requires that we make fair value determinations as of the applicable valuation date. In making these determinations, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the recorded amounts, including, but not limited to, expected future cash flows, market comparables and discount rates, remaining useful lives of long-lived assets, replacement or reproduction costs of property and equipment and the amounts to be recovered in future periods from acquired net operating losses and other deferred tax assets. To assist us in making these fair value determinations, we may engage third-party valuation specialists. Our estimates in this area impact, among other items, the amount of depreciation and amortization and income tax expense or benefit that we report. Our estimates of fair value are based upon assumptions we believe to be reasonable, but which are inherently uncertain. A significant portion of our long-lived assets were initially recorded through the application of acquisition accounting.
For additional information, including the specific weighted average discount rates we used to complete certain nonrecurring valuations, see note 4 to our consolidated financial statements. For information regarding our acquisitions and long-lived assets, see notes 5 and 8, respectively, to our consolidated financial statements.