(MENAFN- The Rio Times) Claro Brasil's third-quarter results look simple on the surface and revealing underneath. The headline: net profit reached R$1.04 billion ($196 million), up 44.2% year on year, on net revenue of about R$13.01 billion ($2.46 billion).

The mechanics: Brazil's second-largest operator is leaning into higher-value postpaid plans and multi-service bundles, lifting earnings even as older businesses-traditional pay TV and fixed voice-shrink.

The engine is mobile. Postpaid lines grew while prepaid declined, pushing average revenue per user to R$27 ($5) and keeping monthly churn at 2.4%.

That mix shift, plus disciplined costs, pushed adjusted EBITDA to R$5.93 billion ($1.12 billion), a strong 45.4% margin. Scale helps: Claro ended the quarter with roughly 89 million mobile lines, most of them postpaid, which tend to be stickier and spend more.

Fixed networks tell the same story in miniature. Fiber broadband added 86,000 customers to 10.53 million, reflecting streaming and home-office habits, while legacy products continued to fade.



Convergent“4-play” bundles-mobile, home internet, fixed voice, TV-expanded by double digits, reducing churn and raising the combined ticket.

The story behind the story is structure. Since Oi exited mobile, Brazil has settled into a three-player market-Vivo, Claro, TIM -where investment in 5G and fiber can be sustained and pricing stays more rational than in a price war.

Claro's share sits near a third of the market, giving it the heft to keep spending on coverage and speed without chasing low-quality growth.

Why it matters beyond Brazil: this is a test case for large emerging markets. It shows how telecoms can grow profits when they move customers from prepaid voice to data-heavy postpaid and package multiple services under one bill.

For consumers, that typically means better networks and sharper bundle deals. For investors, the watch-items are whether postpaid momentum holds, fiber rollouts pay back on time, and the big three keep competition focused on quality rather than discounts. If those conditions hold, margins like these can endure.

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