Spain’s Telefonica beats forecasts, confirms outlook

Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica on Friday confirmed its forecast for 2022 after posting better-than-expected earnings during the third quarter despite global economic uncertainty.

Telefonica said it booked a net profit of 460 million euros ($450 million) in the period from July to September, above the 384 million euros expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

It is down, however, from the net profit of 706 million euros posted in the third quarter of 2021 when results were inflated by the proceeds of the sale of phone masts in Europe and Latin America to American Tower Corporation for 7.7 billion euros.

“In a context of global macroeconomic uncertainty, the company has continued to grow, strengthening its position in its main markets and exploiting new opportunities,” Telefonica said.

Third-quarter revenue was up 11.6 percent at 10.34 billion euros, driven by double-digit increases in Latin America.

The company said the results make it possible to confirm its financial targets for 2022, which it raised during the previous quarter.

Telefonica reiterated that it expects its core earnings growth to be “mid-to-high-end of the low single digit” and revenue growth in the “high end of the low single digit”.

Previously it had projected “low single-digit growth” for revenue in 2022.

Under major restructuring announced in 2019, Telefonica has focused on key markets Brazil, Britain, Germany and Spain, where it believes it can grow sustainably in the long term.

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