CK Hutchison booked another drop in revenue at WindTre during Q1, but highlighted progress in stemming subscriber declines due to a prepaid sub-brand of the Italian business.

WindTre launched prepaid business Very Mobile in 2020 alongside a range of low-price offers as it attempted to compete in the value end of the market.

The Italian unit’s woes have been a frequent theme of 3 Group’s financial updates in recent years, with the market regularly cited as suffering intense competition, previously blamed on Iliad Italia and the country’s MVNOs.

WindTre revenue declined 6 per cent year-on-year to €977 million. Its customer base was broadly flat at 19.2 million.

In the statement, CK Hutchison added the backdrop of “continuous intense competition” in Italy remained, with the revenue decline attributed to a fall in wholesale.

Elsewhere it reported a “challenging market landscape” in for its next largest business, 3 UK, with broadly flat revenue of €582 million.

CK Hutchison also comprises units in Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong and the Republic of Ireland alongside various other smaller interests.

Across the business, revenue was down 1 per cent to €2.5 billion.

It does not provide profit figures in trading updates.