Telefónica loses 1.08 billion euros up to September

MadridTelefónica's withdrawal from Latin America is once again reflected in its results. Between January and September 2025, the company, chaired by Marc Murtra and in which the Spanish government holds a 10% stake, recorded losses of €1.08 billion, compared to a profit of €954 million during the same period last year, as reported by the company to the European Commission on Tuesday morning. The telecom company also presented its roadmap (a new strategic plan) for the next five years. It highlights a cost reduction of up to €3 billion by 2030. This financial discipline will include a dividend reduction in the short term. With all these factors in mind, Telefónica's share price fell by more than 11% on the stock market at 11:50 a.m. on Tuesday (the share price dropped to €3.81).

The results are explained by the sales of subsidiaries in Latin America (Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, and Uruguay) and the losses recorded from these transactions. In fact, it is still awaiting the sale of its subsidiary in Colombia. Meanwhile, Brazil and Spain continue to be the markets driving the business – the telecom's intention is, precisely, to grow in Europe.

Without the impact of having divested its Latin American subsidiaries, Telefónica would have posted a net profit of €828 million from continuing operations in the first nine months of the year, 45.9% less than in the same period of 2024. The first telecom The Spanish company is repeating the red ink scenario it experienced in June, when it presented its results for the first half of the year and announced net losses of €1.355 billion. The company's revenue between January and September fell 2.8% due to the impact of currency fluctuations, to €26.97 billion. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) also decreased to €8.938 billion, a 3.6% drop compared to the first nine months of 2024. Debt as of September 30 stood at €28.233 billion. New strategic plan

The presentation of the results for the first nine months of the year coincides with the presentation of the company's new strategic plan for the next five years, named Transform & Grow. Telefónica will outline the details of its new roadmap to analysts this Tuesday at noon during its Capital Markets Day. The company aims to focus on four major markets – Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Brazil – and become a "leading European operator with profitable scale," the company stated in a press release. To implement this new plan, Murtra has already indicated that he will apply "ironclad financial discipline." In this regard, the company anticipates cost reductions of up to €3 billion over the next five years, which will initially impact shareholder returns. Telefónica will maintain its dividend for 2025 (€0.30 per share), while halving it in 2026 (€0.15 per share, payable in cash in 2027).

One of the pillars of the strategic plan, which Murtra has championed since assuming the presidency of Telefónica in January of this year, is "to capture the [acquisition] opportunities that arise and generate value for shareholders," that is, to explore acquisitions. However, the telecom has avoided specifying concrete buying opportunities.