Net loss of 1.83 billion euro in Q4 due to extraordinary factors
Spanish telecom giant Telefónica recorded 11.88 billion euro ($12.98 billion) in fourth quarter 2015 revenue, flat compared to the year-ago period. The company’s net loss for the quarter reached 1.83 billion euro, compared to a net profit of 303 million euro in Q4 2014.
The company said full-year net result were impacted by extraordinary factors, mainly a 2.602 million euro charge during Q4 related to the voluntary employment suspension plan of Telefonica’s Spanish unit.
Telefonica’s Spanish business saw the highest growth in terms of revenue during the quarter at 6%, followed by Telefónica’s operations in Germany at2%. Telefónica’s revenue in Spanish-speaking Latin America expanded by 0.1% in the quarter, while the Brazilian business declined by 9.2% year-on-year in the last quarter of 2015.
The telco’s capital expenditures during Q4 totaled 2.47 billion euro, down 34.2% compared to the year-ago quarter.
“The growing demand for data also requires adapting the networks, a trend which Telefónica began earlier than others,” noted Cesar Alierta, Telefónica chairman. “In 2015, we once again invested 17% of our revenues, which, together with spectrum acquisitions, positioned our investment level at 9,578 million euro. This effort enabled us to have in Spain the most extensive fiber-to-the-home network (14.3 million premises passed) and with more customers connected in Europe, to reach more than 17 million premises passed with fiber in Brazil, or achieve an LTE penetration in Europe of 75% and 43% in Latin America.”
The telecom firm ended 2015 with 316.2 million subscribers in its global operation, an increase of 2.1% year-on-year. Mobile telephony subscribers totaled 247 million at the end of Q4, down 1.2% year-on-year. Telefónica did note it reached 29.7 million LTE subscribers at the end of the period, reaching a penetration of 12.5% in its overall mobile base.
For the full year, Telefónica’s revenue grew to 47.22 billion euro from 43.46 billion euro the previous year. For 2016, Telefónica forecast revenue growth of more than 4% compared to 2015.
“In 2016 growth and data monetization will accelerate, while we maximize the efficiencies from integration and simplification, and we boost our innovation and big data capabilities,” Alierta added.
