Grupo ICE Reports Significant Decline in Telecommunications Revenue Post-Pandemic
Financial statements reveal a notable drop in revenue for Grupo ICE's telecommunications sector since the pandemic, with competitive pressures and market dynamics playing crucial roles.
Financial reports from Grupo ICE indicate a continuing decline in telecommunications revenue, amounting to a loss of ¢37.519 billion after the pandemic, despite efforts towards economic reactivation.
In 2019, telecommunications contributed ¢607.645 billion to the public company, marking a 3.56% increase from 2018. However, the onset of COVID-19 in 2020 caused revenues to fall to ¢580.471 billion, representing a decrease of ¢27.174 billion, or 4.47%.
By the end of 2021, revenues further declined to ¢564.995 billion, which was a reduction of ¢15.476 billion compared to the previous year, reflecting a decline of 2.67%.
During the second year of the pandemic, Grupo ICE reported a shortfall of ¢42.650 billion compared to 2019, heavily attributable to drops in revenue from telephone services and fixed internet connections.
In 2022, following extensive vaccination campaigns and lifting of movement restrictions, the company reported a slight recovery with revenues climbing to ¢574.441 billion, an increase of ¢9.446 billion, or 1.67%.
Nonetheless, this upward trend did not persist beyond that year.
Between 2023 and early 2025, revenues decreased again by ¢37.519 billion according to financial statements released in April.
In 2023, Grupo ICE's telecommunications revenue stood at ¢551.256 billion, a drop of ¢23.185 billion relative to 2022. Projections for 2024 indicated further decline, with revenues anticipated to reach ¢543.934 billion, which is ¢7.322 billion less than the previous year.
Preliminary financial data for the first quarter of 2025 demonstrated a continued downward trend, reporting revenues of ¢129.544 billion, a decline of ¢7.012 billion from ¢136.556 billion during the same period in 2024.
This revenue dip aligns with a reduction in Grupo ICE's market share in internet provision and pay-TV subscriptions, as per the 2024 Telecommunications Access and Usage Survey conducted by the Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology, and Telecommunications.
The company ranked fourth in household internet access and fifth in pay-TV subscriptions.
Additionally, competition in the cellular market has led to a decline in Grupo ICE's market share, a trend that has persisted since the sector was opened up in 2011. Despite this competitive environment, the company remains the highest revenue earner in the Costa Rican telecommunications sector.
From 2014 to 2019, Grupo ICE's revenues constituted between 81.4% and 79.4% of the total generated across the national market, according to the Superintendence of Telecommunications (Sutel).
As of 2023, Grupo ICE captured 75.3% of all telecommunications sales in a market worth ¢732.363 billion, with 2024 figures expected to be released by Sutel in July.
The telecommunications management of Grupo ICE indicated that the overall national market has not shown significant revenue growth since 2020. The organization noted that the general trend in both global and national industries shows consumers receiving increased benefits for lower prices, contributing to the reduced revenue capture due to heightened competition.
In this regard, Sutel data confirms that total industry sales experienced a minimal increase of only 0.43% from 2020 to 2023.
To counteract these challenges, Grupo ICE is focusing on enhancing customer experience and expanding its offerings, particularly in the postpaid segment, where it continues to lead the market with a retention rate of 41.8% against competitors Liberty and Claro.
However, the company has seen a loss of 15.5 percentage points in this segment over the past four years, down from a 57.3% share in postpaid subscriptions in 2019.
The management has also prioritized mobile network enhancements, including 4G and 5G implementation, as well as fiber optic deployment.
However, the rollout of 5G has faced delays attributed to a precautionary measure initiated by the Internal Front of ICE Workers (FIT-ICE), which has postponed the launch by at least one year.
Legal actions were taken against a decree from August 2023 that barred Chinese company Huawei from being a 5G provider, citing national security concerns.
In February 2024, the Administrative Litigation Court upheld this precautionary measure, halting an ongoing bidding process for 5G network providers, which had included Huawei among other firms.
The initial plan anticipated a commercial launch of 5G services by September 2025, following a timeline that included finalizing a provider by June 2024 and securing necessary equipment by December 2023.
In 2019, telecommunications contributed ¢607.645 billion to the public company, marking a 3.56% increase from 2018. However, the onset of COVID-19 in 2020 caused revenues to fall to ¢580.471 billion, representing a decrease of ¢27.174 billion, or 4.47%.
By the end of 2021, revenues further declined to ¢564.995 billion, which was a reduction of ¢15.476 billion compared to the previous year, reflecting a decline of 2.67%.
During the second year of the pandemic, Grupo ICE reported a shortfall of ¢42.650 billion compared to 2019, heavily attributable to drops in revenue from telephone services and fixed internet connections.
In 2022, following extensive vaccination campaigns and lifting of movement restrictions, the company reported a slight recovery with revenues climbing to ¢574.441 billion, an increase of ¢9.446 billion, or 1.67%.
Nonetheless, this upward trend did not persist beyond that year.
Between 2023 and early 2025, revenues decreased again by ¢37.519 billion according to financial statements released in April.
In 2023, Grupo ICE's telecommunications revenue stood at ¢551.256 billion, a drop of ¢23.185 billion relative to 2022. Projections for 2024 indicated further decline, with revenues anticipated to reach ¢543.934 billion, which is ¢7.322 billion less than the previous year.
Preliminary financial data for the first quarter of 2025 demonstrated a continued downward trend, reporting revenues of ¢129.544 billion, a decline of ¢7.012 billion from ¢136.556 billion during the same period in 2024.
This revenue dip aligns with a reduction in Grupo ICE's market share in internet provision and pay-TV subscriptions, as per the 2024 Telecommunications Access and Usage Survey conducted by the Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology, and Telecommunications.
The company ranked fourth in household internet access and fifth in pay-TV subscriptions.
Additionally, competition in the cellular market has led to a decline in Grupo ICE's market share, a trend that has persisted since the sector was opened up in 2011. Despite this competitive environment, the company remains the highest revenue earner in the Costa Rican telecommunications sector.
From 2014 to 2019, Grupo ICE's revenues constituted between 81.4% and 79.4% of the total generated across the national market, according to the Superintendence of Telecommunications (Sutel).
As of 2023, Grupo ICE captured 75.3% of all telecommunications sales in a market worth ¢732.363 billion, with 2024 figures expected to be released by Sutel in July.
The telecommunications management of Grupo ICE indicated that the overall national market has not shown significant revenue growth since 2020. The organization noted that the general trend in both global and national industries shows consumers receiving increased benefits for lower prices, contributing to the reduced revenue capture due to heightened competition.
In this regard, Sutel data confirms that total industry sales experienced a minimal increase of only 0.43% from 2020 to 2023.
To counteract these challenges, Grupo ICE is focusing on enhancing customer experience and expanding its offerings, particularly in the postpaid segment, where it continues to lead the market with a retention rate of 41.8% against competitors Liberty and Claro.
However, the company has seen a loss of 15.5 percentage points in this segment over the past four years, down from a 57.3% share in postpaid subscriptions in 2019.
The management has also prioritized mobile network enhancements, including 4G and 5G implementation, as well as fiber optic deployment.
However, the rollout of 5G has faced delays attributed to a precautionary measure initiated by the Internal Front of ICE Workers (FIT-ICE), which has postponed the launch by at least one year.
Legal actions were taken against a decree from August 2023 that barred Chinese company Huawei from being a 5G provider, citing national security concerns.
In February 2024, the Administrative Litigation Court upheld this precautionary measure, halting an ongoing bidding process for 5G network providers, which had included Huawei among other firms.
The initial plan anticipated a commercial launch of 5G services by September 2025, following a timeline that included finalizing a provider by June 2024 and securing necessary equipment by December 2023.