Antel earned US$249 million in 2025 and handed it all to the State

What it is

Antel is one of the country's most profitable public companies and a steady source of funds for the Treasury: each year it transfers part of its profits to Rentas Generales, the pot the State uses to pay for health, education, security and housing. In 2024, according to El Observador, it earned $9,676 million (some US$219.6 million) and contributed US$171 million. The 2025 accounts, audited by KPMG and published on 31 March 2026, showed a step change in that transfer, in a year when the company was rolling out 5G and fibre and switching off the old copper network.

What is questioned

El Observador, Ámbito and la diaria reported on 31 March 2026 that Antel closed 2025 with a profit of $9,710.5 million (about US$248.7 million) and transferred $9,728.9 million (about US$249.2 million) to the Treasury: slightly more than everything it earned in the year, a record contribution. Operating income was $46,482 million, up 1.3% in nominal terms; data grew 10.5% and mobile telephony 2.8%, while fixed telephony fell 34% as copper was decommissioned. The EBITDA margin was 33% (two points above 2024) and return on equity 15.1%; the company cut bank debt by 29% and closed with $2,784 million in cash (some US$71.3 million). Back in 2021 the union Sutel had warned in Montevideo Portal that articles of the budget bill "will weaken Antel" and "benefit multinationals", recalling that the company, "with its own funds (which belong to all Uruguayans, while simultaneously contributing to general revenues)", invested in fibre optics, data centres, submarine cable and 5G.

Why it matters to you

Every peso Antel sends to the Treasury funds other policies, but it is also money that does not stay in the company to invest in the network or to cut tariffs. Transferring slightly more than its entire profit in one year is a decision about that trade-off, and the person paying or receiving is the same taxpayer who pays the bill.

Where it stands