Telefónica loses 1.355 billion euros through June due to the impact of sales from Latin American subsidiaries.

Telefónica recorded losses of €1.355 billion in the first half of the year, compared to profits of €950 million last year, due to accounting losses recorded from the progressive sale of its Latin American subsidiaries in Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Uruguay, and Ecuador .

The telecommunications operator would have earned €558 million, a 46.3% decrease, had these sold operations or the pending regulatory process for them not been taken into account.

The company posted revenues of €18.013 billion in the first six months of Marc Murtra 's tenure, a 3.3% decrease, in comparisons marked by the sale of business units over the last year. If this figure were excluded, the group would have grown revenues by 1.5% , thanks to the strong performance of Brazil, which reported a 7.1% increase in business at constant currency, and Spain, which increased its sales by 1.9%.

Overall, Telefónica's revenues have increased both in the consumer segment, with a 2.1% increase, and in the increasingly strategic business-to-business (B2B) segment, which grew by 5.1% . Related to this, Telefónica Tech's revenues accelerated in the second quarter, surpassing €1 billion in revenues in the first half of the year, with total growth of 9.6% for the period.

The impact of exchange rates, specifically on the Brazilian real, has again weighed on Telefónica's accounts, with a loss of €841 million. Adjusted gross operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) was €5.867 billion, a 4.6% decrease due to this effect, which also affected the Brazilian business, which fell 6.6% in reported revenue terms.

Telefónica Tech increased its revenue by 12.5% in the second quarter, reaching €566 million. In the first half of the year, it achieved sales of €1.074 billion, an increase of 9.6%.

Meanwhile, net debt fell 5.5% to €27.609 billion. With these results, the company will maintain its financial market targets and confirm its dividend of €0.30. "We are making progress in defining our strategic review, but in the meantime, we continue to execute our mandate for the year with discipline and professionalism," emphasizes Marc Murtra , Chairman of Telefónica. The company has also just made two changes to its Board of Directors, welcoming Mónica Rey, CEO of Atento Europea, and Anna Martínez, General Manager of Balañá at viu.

Key markets

In key markets, Spain once again reported the greatest growth, with the largest quarterly customer increase since the third quarter of 2018. Telefónica posted revenues of €6.356 billion in its home market, up 1.8%, with EBITDA of €2.254 billion.

On the positive side, the contribution of pay-TV customers stands out, with 89,000 new subscribers in the second quarter, a clear reversal of the trend the group has been experiencing in recent years, as well as the growth of the electronic device sales business.

In Brazil, the exchange rate has impacted the accounting results, but locally, the group continued to grow revenue and profit, and the company has added nearly 900,000 new customers in three months.

In Germany, meanwhile, the company is penalized by the loss of its wholesale customer 1&1. The company posted revenue of €4.095 billion, down 2.5%, while profitability fell more sharply, down 4.1% to €1.278 billion.

Non-core Latin American business, meanwhile, saw a 12% drop in revenue, while the United Kingdom also saw a 5.5% year-over-year decline.