America Movil SAB, Latin America's biggest wireless carrier, reported a loss in the third quarter, dragged down by sinking currencies in Brazil and Mexico, its home market.

The net loss was 2.88 billion pesos ($174.8 million), Mexico City-based America Movil said in a statement Monday. Analysts predicted profit of 11.5 billion pesos, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose 1.2 percent from a year earlier to 223.6 billion pesos, compared with the average 224.4 billion-peso projection.

America Movil has taken a hit from the economic crisis in Brazil, where it gets 17 percent of its sales. Latin America’s largest economy is headed for its worst recession since the 1930s. The Brazilian real endured the biggest decline among the world’s major currencies in the third quarter, sliding 21 per cent against the US dollar.

The company’s profit margin in Mexico slid to 40.3 per cent in the period from 44.8 per cent a year earlier. The Mexican peso dropped 7 per cent in the quarter. While both regulatory penalties and a depreciated currency in its home market have cut into the profit of Carlos Slim’s operator, its Central America unit is the company’s fastest growing region, with sales rising 8.3 per cent. America Movil rose 2.2 per cent to 14.57 pesos at the close Monday in Mexico City. The shares have declined 11 per cent this year.

Bloomberg