Telefonica’s net profit rose 42.2% to 779 million euros in the first quarter of 2017 from a year earlier. The 2016 results were reformulated mid-last year after the group decided to stop presenting its UK subsidiary O2 as a discontinued operation. Revenues from its Brazil and Latin American operations were the main earnings driver.
Telefónica’s share price has made a strong recovery so far this year and is now trading around 10,3 euros, meaning it has gained no less than 31% from last year’s minimum levels. New executive chairman Jose María Álvarez-Pallete has played a big part in this comeback.
Telefonica has reached an agreement with Vodafone which will allow the latter to access its fibre optic network both in non-regulated areas (the 66 most populated cities in which Telefonica is not obliged to share its infrastructure) as well as in a significant part of the regulated zones.
Telefonica posted profit of 2.369 billion euros in 2016, up 3.8% from a year earlier. Last year’s figure reflected non-recurrent items, mainly a 1.290 billion euros charge in the fourth quarter related to restructuring costs. Excluding that charge, profits rose 4.8% to 4.038 billion euros year-on-year.
Nearly six months after Telefonica announced the IPO of its infrastructure affiliateTelxius, venture capital firm KKR said it plans to buy 40% of the company for 1.275 billion euros, or 12.75 euros per share. So one headache less for the Spanish telecommunications giant.
Telefonica’s stock price held up much better than expected after the multinational announced it will cut its dividend this year and next. The shares finally closed down 1% after falling as much as 4% in the first few hours of the session. It seems that investors have understood that, on the one hand, it is the company’s best option for reducing debt; and, on the other, that the dividend yield is still very attractive.
It’s definitely not Telefónica finest hour. Problems with the possible listing of its UK affiliate O2 after the pound’s slump can be added to the fiasco with the IPO of its infrastructure subsidiary Telxius. The company is worried about having its rating cut and it doesn’t know how it can cut its massive 52 billion euros debt pile. But on Monday it returned to the debt market and successfully placed 2 billion euros in 4-year and 15-year bonds.
These are not good times for IPOs. Telefónica has been obliged to cancel the IPO of its infrastructure affiliate Telxius, with the agreement of the placement banks. With the stock market listing, Telefonica had hoped to reduce its hefty debt pile of over 52 billion euros. But market pressure has forced it to backtrack. Telefónica’s shares opened down 4% on Friday. So far this year, the shares have still lost over 8%.
This week Telefonica has been one of the main protagonists of the Spanish stock market. Firstly, it confirmed to bourse regulator CNMV that it will launch an IPO of between 25% and 50% of its infrastructure affiliate Telxius. And secondly, that it is finalising the partial sale of its UK subsidiary O2.