FLOW’S US$25-M REBUILD

FLOW Jamaica has spent more than US$25 million ($3.90 billion) restoring its network after Hurricane Melissa, including US$12 million ($1.87 billion) during the second quarter as it continued reconnecting fixed-line customers in western Jamaica. Balan Nair, chief executive officer of Liberty Latin America Limited (LILA), disclosed the expenditure during the company’s earnings call on Thursday, while discussing recovery work in Jamaica. “The actual business operations itself is improving, and we are getting very close to getting back to full strength.

As a matter of fact, our mobile business has improved coming out of this, and our market share has improved coming out of this. Our ARPU (average revenue per user) has improved coming out of this,” Nair said of the recovery effort. Liberty’s Caribbean segment added 11,000 postpaid subscribers during the second quarter ended June 30, with 6,000 subscribers coming from the Jamaican market.

Revenue from Jamaica was down US$3.1 million or three per cent to US$101.6 million ($15.86 billion) for the second quarter. Liberty’s quarterly filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission noted that Hurricane Melissa had a negative impact of US$8 million on revenue. “We continue to see negative headwinds from Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, the effect is clearly diminishing,” Nair said.

However, the recovery in Jamaica continues to be impacted by the pace of infrastructure restoration in western Jamaica. LILA noted that approximately 38,000 RGUs (revenue generating units) in the Jamaican market remained offline at the end of the quarter. This comprised 19,000 broadband internet units, 15,000 fixed-line telephony and 4,000 video subscribers.

“I think there are some homes that we will not rebuild back to, and it’s just gone. For the most part, we think we can get back to a pretty high level of penetration,” Nair noted as the company brought 48,000 RGUs back online during the first six months of 2026. Liberty’s Jamaican operation, led by Flow Jamaica, reported a US$5.2 million or two per cent reduction in six-month revenue to US$204.8 million.

The hurricane had a US$20 million negative impact to Liberty’s revenue and a US$22 million impact on its operating income before depreciation and amortisation. Nair credited the recovery trajectory to the work of the company’s teams in Jamaica and Miami, including the mana…